Hey, Granger!
by Living In My Imagination
Summary: A story of an unlikely friendship beginning in the quiet library stacks, enduring the test of inter-house rivalries, and developing into something potentially very dangerous for them both; this is my take on a relationship I've always had a place in my heart for, it starts from the beginning of HBP and follows my OTP through the major ups and downs of the descent into the war.
1. Chapter 1

" _Hey, Granger!"_  
The call echoed down the cold corridor, and Hermione's head whipped around, a confused frown on her face, to find herself face to face with an out-of-breath Draco Malfoy.  
"What do you want?" she snapped.  
His expression was somewhere between a sneer and something resembling disappointment, and wordlessly he shoved something onto the already large pile of books in her arms. She glanced down to see her Arithmancy textbook and swallowed the taste of her own embarrassment, had Draco just done something nice for her? If not nice, then it could at least be regarded as in the realm of normal, and non-hostile, and that just didn't make any sense. He seemed to be waiting for her response, and after a moment she met his gaze and said with meaning, "Thank you. It would have been really annoying to make it to the Dormitory only to realise I had to come all the way back."  
"Ever think about taking less subjects, minimising the load?" Again his tone was difficult to understand, there was something of his usual arrogance but far less venom than Hermione was accustomed to.  
She shifted the straps of her weighty schoolbag and shrugged as best she could, "I've found a way to manage the work."  
"That involves staying in the library until almost midnight?"  
It was starting to sound like more of his usual taunting and she frowned at him, "I'm not the only one studying late, struggling to keep up with your own classes, Malfoy?"  
He pursed his lips, "What I'm working on is none of your business, Granger."  
"And my schedule is none of yours. Goodnight."  
She turned on her heel and marched off towards Gryffindor common room, not seeing the odd smirk Draco wore as he returned to his desk in the library and began to pack up his own things.

It had all started only a few weeks before, when Draco had retreated to the stillness of the library in search of somewhere to study, and research his mission for the Dark Lord, in peace. His own common room had become much rowdier as the days got darker and the threat of the Dark Lord grew, to the point where he could hardly stand to be the subject of so many stares and whispers. He didn't know how Potter had done it all the years, constantly having eyes on him.  
In the library no one paid any attention to anything other than the textbook or essay in front of them, and he had found it somewhere he was strangely at home. At first he hadn't noticed those surrounding him, until he'd started to stay later, arrive earlier, frequent the shelves and dusty passageways between stacks at lunchtimes- that was when he realised that he wasn't alone in his habits. That was when he first really paid attention to Hermione Granger.  
It was no secret she was the smartest Witch in the year, it was rare to see her unburdened by an armful of heavy books and usually most people focussed on her famous best friend and his ever-more-popular, since he became good at Quiddich, sidekick, Weasley. However, in the library where she built for herself a fort of books and papers, there was something far more appealing than the bossy know-it-all that Draco mocked since their very first Potions lesson.  
There were certain things that she did that caught his attention, luring him away from his work and distracting him; like the way that she hummed softly as she browsed the stacks. At first he'd found it irritating, but as the days passed he found it brought a smile to his face when from inside the maze of shelves he could hear her. And then there was the way she would work, furiously scribbling out an essay when she was under pressure, the scratching of the quill uneven, her bushy hair falling into her eyes so many times, until finally she would throw down her quill in exasperation and twist it into a knot on the top of her head. It never stayed put for long, loose strands curling against her cheeks and temple until the whole thing came tumbling down and the process began again.  
He also noticed that she chose to sit at the tables closest to the window, furthest from the door and tucked into a corner near the section on Arithmancy; a subject that Draco had always been interested in, but put off by the complexity, and the fact that many of the students taking it would frequently have breakdowns in the middle of the exam. Sitting by the window meant she controlled the temperature around her, and there had been one afternoon when the evening sun was hot that she had it ajar and the breeze coming in had disturbed all of her papers, scattering them across the library floor. Some stupid Hufflepuff had helped her tidy them again, though he went back to his group with a rejection at his invitation for her to join them.  
Hermione, like Draco, preferred to work alone.

And so, it hadn't taken him long to come to terms with the fact that instead of disdain, he now always felt slightly elated whenever he saw her. It was a harder struggle to hide this from his friends, classmates, and of course, Hermione herself. Not that she ever paid him the slightest ounce of attention during their hours together in the library.  
What was most frustrating about the whole thing was the fact it had started to take away the element of productivity that Draco had enjoyed most from the library. He was falling behind with his classes and therefore his free time to carry out the task the Dark Lord had set for him. And somehow Draco was sure that the excuse that he was distracted by a Muggleborn classmate, was not one his Master would accept.  
The best course of action therefore, was to ignore her. He wouldn't give up his library time, not for some stupid Gryffindor, and he most definitely didn't have time to waste. Of course the very next night was the night she left her textbook on a spare seat. It was the night that Draco had his first exchange with her that wasn't unpleasant. It was the first night, of many, that would see the two unlikely characters, become friends.  
And it all started the moment Draco rushed out of the library doors, the book clutched in his hand, took a deep breath and yelled, " _Hey, Granger_!"

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 _For any of you who are new to me as a writer, let me start by saying hi ;) thanks for clicking and I hope you keep reading. Just so you know I LOVE feedback, I'm crazy for it, so please feel free to share your thoughts._

 _This fic is just a total love affair for me, Draco and Hermione are my OTP and I'm going to have so much fun writing about them. The format is short and sweet, the theme will become apparent. Basically, I'll keep writing regardless but I'd love to hear what you guys think/what you'd like to see. Just because I'm trying to keep you guys sweet, I'm going to upload the second chapter just now... happy reading._

 _-H_


	2. Chapter 2

" _Hey, Granger!_ "  
Hermione jumped and only just managed to stop herself from walking straight into the person in front of her, "Watch where you're going, would you!"  
Draco was frowning at her and behind him his Slytherin friends were sniggering childishly. Hermione set her shoulders and stepped sideways, allowing the group to pass her in the packed corridor, wincing as the cold stone wall scraped her elbows and wondering if she had imagined that Draco Malfoy had ever been nice to her.  
Hadn't it been only two nights ago he'd chased her down to hand over her Arithmancy book? And then the next morning at breakfast there had been a very odd moment when it appeared he had deliberately waited upon entering the Great Hall to hold the door open for her, and not just so he could slam it in her face. Whatever had overcome his sense of ill towards her, had apparently run its course.  
She had been lost in her own thoughts as she'd left Harry and Ron in the common room enjoying one of their free periods. To her great annoyance she felt the threat of tears and swallowed against the rock at the back of her throat, quickly she ducked into the girl's bathrooms to avoid the group of Ravenclaws that were coming up the corridor, and once the door was closed she lent her head against it and took a deep breath.  
Life at Hogwarts, while on the most part wonderful, did have its moments; between exams, homework, dealing with Harry's ever-dramatic quests and dramas, Ron's mood swings and the occasional bought of home-sickness was difficult enough, but for years Hermione had also been sharing a dormitory with a group of girls she had nothing in common with. In their first year she had hoped they would eventually bore of teasing her love for studying and accept her for her bushy hair and lack of interest in fashion and Witch Weekly, however as they grew up she began to understand that there were just some people she'd never fit in with. Things were especially tense at the moment, the way that Lavender and Pavarti kept whispering behind their hands and dissolving into silence whenever she walked past, and Hermione knew it had something to do with Ron… which made her feel both angry and a little sick. And there wasn't really anyone she could talk to about it, usually she would confide in Ginny when the boys were being, boys, but how could she sit down and explain that the thought something might happen between Ron and Lavender made her go cold to her core, when Ginny was Ron's sister?  
The bell rang, jolting Hermione out of her miserable daze and she scurried back into the busy corridor and headed towards Arthimancy.  
On her way she heard loud laughter and re-encountered the group of Slytherins that included Malfoy, who were loitering by the staircase, clearly not caring whether they made it to class on time or not. Pansy Parkison saw her coming and elbowed Malfoy, "Oh what's wrong Granger," she cried, "Did you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror in the bathroom?"  
Her friends laughed nastily, and Hermione resisted the temptation to rub her eyes, which must have given her away. She ignored Pansy and tried to brush past Crabbe, but he threw out a gorilla arm to block her way.  
"What's the hurry, Mudblood?" Blaise asked menacingly from behind her.  
"I'm late for class," she was pleased to hear that her voice barely wavered, "Unlike some of you, I actually care about having a successful future, and that requires passing these things called exams."  
She turned her head and glared at him, annoyed to see his broad smirk and wishing she weren't so outnumbered.  
Pansy sneered, "Now that the Dark Lord has risen again, filthy little Mudbloods like you won't live to see it anyway, so why bother?"  
Hermione gaped at her, she couldn't believe she had been so bold, so publically. She regained what composure she could muster and said in a low voice, "Well, whatever the future holds for me, Pansy, I'm not going to sit back and give in. All I can hope is that I'll be duelling someone as inept as you, because if all Voldemort's followers are as incompetent at Defence Against the Dark Arts, I'm not worried."  
Pansey drew herself up as if she were about to strike, until a sharp voice cut across the tension, "That's enough. Move your arm Crabbe and let her pass."  
Hermione didn't look back at Draco or his friends as she ascended the stairs, and despite being shaken, and late for class, she refused to rush. When she reached the landing she heard them move away and let out a gasp of relief. Hogwarts was beginning to feel like a very different school, one where she wasn't accepted, one where she didn't feel safe.

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 _Okay so not all the chapters are this short, but as the story progresses the stolen moments and fast-pace will hopefully come together really well. Love to hear your thoughts._

 _-H_


	3. Chapter 3

" _Hey, Granger_!"  
Draco's head whipped around as the loud voice came from the person directly behind him. He scowled at McLaggen who was ignoring the fact he had just bellowed in Draco's ear in favour of trying to wave down Hermione. They were all heading towards the Great Hall and in the dinner rush the crowd was pushing towards the double doors so there was nowhere to escape as the three ended up squashed together, jostling with the crowd.  
"What's the hold up?" McLaggen boomed at Hermione whose smile was more of a grimace.  
"Peeves I think, he was trying to start a food fight."  
"What do you think about try-outs?" he didn't sound the least bit interested in what she had just told him and immediately puffed out his chest, "Potter is holding them on Saturday right? I'm going out for Keeper. Fancy coming to watch me make the team?"  
Draco resisted the urge to snort. While McLaggen was built like a gorilla and could probably cover most of the hoops just by hovering near them, he thought it very unlikely that Potter would trade in his sidekick. Hermione didn't look convinced either and for a moment their eyes met while McLaggen continued to push forwards, and Draco swore she almost smirked back at him.  
It was gone in a flash however as they finally entered the hall and he was forced to watch Hermione get swept off by McLaggen towards the Gryffindor table, and a sour taste entered Draco's mouth. He threw himself down on the bench next to Pansy, and then instantly regretted it as she ran a hand up his arm. "Where have you been?"  
"In the library."  
She pouted, "I'm beginning to think you go there for more than studying- why so obsessed with homework all of a sudden?"  
"Because it looks suspicious if I don't keep up with my classes," he ladled strew onto his plate and let the silence gain more weight than it was due. Pansy was so determined to see him as some kind of hero that she lapped up any hint of working for the Dark Lord and she instantly smiled and snuggled closer.  
"You know, I can help you if you need. I bully this really brainy Ravenclaw from the year below to do all my essays for Transfiguration, and Snape will let you skip Defence work if it means-"  
"What part of covert don't you get?" Draco sneered, leaning away as far as he could. "I don't need or want your help Pansy."  
Blaise appeared opposite them and threw an amused glance over his shoulder, "Wait until you hear this, you know that brute McLaggen?"  
Draco's eyes wandered to the Gryffindor table where he was displeased to see said brute was still bothering Hermione. He wasn't sure if he was any happier when Potter and Weasley showed up and relieved her of his company; sure it meant that McLaggen was left sulking over his pork chops, but Hermione's sudden brilliant smile did not improve his mood.  
"What about him?" Pansy asked instantly, the girl was like a bloodhound with a nose for gossip.  
"Heard him bragging all the way down the Charms corridor, apparently he's become a favourite of Slughorn, and his plan is to use his fancy little dinner parties to woo a certain bushy-haired Muggleborn."  
Pansy shrieked with laughter, "McLaggen and Granger? Oh that is too good, I mean he's an oaf but at least he's a Pureblood. Don't you think he could do better?"  
She turned to Draco as if she expected him to back her up, but he remained silent. Blaise frowned, "What's wrong with you?"  
"Why do I care which Gryffindors are hooking up?"  
"I didn't say they were hooking up, I said he was planning on cornering her first chance he got."  
Draco pursed his lips and the plates on the table vanished to make room for the desserts. "Unless Draco thinks that maybe it's Granger that can do better than McLaggen," Pansy put in sulkily.  
Draco was relieved when Blaise burst out laughing, "Just because he isn't showing you any affection doesn't mean he'd stoop so low to consider a Mudblood."  
The conversation luckily dissolved as the puddings arrived, but Draco was no longer hungry. He stood up and pushed away from the Slytherin table with a murmured excuse, before he bolted for the library. He was in such a foul mood he barely noticed who he was pushing past as he rushed up the main staircase, and only stopped to breathe when he reached the cool, empty library.

It had been a very strange evening for Hermione. First she had been accosted by McLaggen on her way to dinner, and maybe, possibly shared a moment with Malfoy in the process. Then as dinner had drawn to an end, her rescuers in Ron and Harry had failed her when Lavender had sidled over to chat about Quiddich try-outs, even though they were all well aware she knew next to nothing about the sport other than to cheer for the team in scarlet. Eventually the awkwardness and forced conversation had left her with little choice other than to fabricate some outstanding homework and flee the Great Hall. She had been trudging her way up to Gryffindor Tower when someone had bumped her shoulder in their hurry to pass her. She didn't even think that Draco had noticed her, there was a look on his face that wasn't one she'd seen before, at least not on him. It was a raw mixture of fear and an anguished determination; like a boy caught in a trap.  
For a moment she hesitated at the top of the stairs, she should go back to Gryffindor common room and wait for Harry and Ron. She should get a head start on her reading for tomorrow's classes. She should… not be following Draco Malfoy to the library.


	4. Chapter 4

" _Hey, Granger_ , mind if I sit?"  
Hermione glanced up from her book and nodded silently. The chair scraped on the floor as he pulled it back and settled himself down with a quill and parchment. Neither of them said anything for a long while. Draco appeared to genuinely be studying, his head bowed over his work, fair hair falling into his eyes. He could use a haircut, she thought, quickly glancing back to the words on the page in front of her when he sat up.  
"Is that any good?" he asked softly.  
Hermione placed an old chocolate frog card into the page to act as a bookmark and closed the cover of Hogwarts, A History. "Not many people find it interesting, but I do."  
"Isn't it just old legends and stories about the school?"  
"Well yes- but… it's silly." She shook her head and felt herself blush.  
Draco was still watching her and without thinking it through she blurted, "When I first found out about Hogwarts I… I was worried it was a cruel joke. I mean, I always knew I was different, I had small displays of magic as a child, but when I found out that I was a Witch and I could come here I wanted to make _sure_ it was real. This was the first book I saw when I walked into Florish and Blotts on my first trip to Diagon Alley. It made it all real."  
When she finished talking she bit down on his bottom lip, aware she had just overshared a very personal moment with someone who was sure to use it against her, but all Draco said was, "I don't think that's silly."  
"You- you don't?"  
He shook his head, "You were sensible enough not to get your hopes up before you had proof that it couldn't all be taken away, that's smart not silly."  
Hermione laughed a little, "Did you just pay me a compliment?"  
"I'm not sure that was really a compliment."  
"Well it wasn't an insult."  
He pursed his lips, "I do that a lot don't I?"  
"Insult me? You're only just realising that?"  
"Sometimes I… sometimes I just say and do things without really thinking about why." He frowned and she was struck by his honesty. It didn't excuse his bad behaviour, but she would never have expected a confession like that from Draco.  
"Maybe you need to be a little smarter," she said gently.  
He didn't meet her eye, "Maybe."  
The library was starting to fill with students arriving after dinner. Most people wanted to get their homework finished on a Thursday evening so they had Fridays free, and soon the tables around them were packed with seniors trying desperately to keep on top of their workload. Draco lapsed back into silence and Hermione tried not to notice the odd looks they were getting by sitting together.  
He must have noticed too because he murmured, "I won't be offended if you'd prefer to move."  
"I'm not the one who tends to judge people based on their House or blood status," she shot back a little too harshly. "Besides, this is my usual table, you're not chasing me away from it."  
"I'm not trying to."  
He still wasn't looking at her, he was focussed on his essay with a kind of fervent look in his eyes, "What are you working on?"  
"This stupid Potions essay for Slughorn- who by the way I hear thinks everything you touch turns to gold."  
Hermione decided to ignore the jibe and held out her hand, "Give it here."  
"You're going to do my homework for me?"  
"I'm going to correct it, I can see three mistakes from here and you look like you're about to start tearing your hair out. Besides, I do this for Harry and Ron all the time."  
Draco sighed and handed over the parchment, "Well that explains a lot."  
Hermione smirked and began proof read his work, really it wasn't bad at all, only his spelling and grammar were suffering mostly she guessed, due to stress. She worked in silence and when she looked up he was reading the first chapter of Hogwarts, A History.  
Wordlessly she handed back the parchment and he glanced over it with a look of profound relief, "You just need to add the conclusion."  
"You are… saving my life, quite literally."  
"I fixed a few mistakes, it was nothing. You can keep that, by the way, if you want to read it."  
"I'm not sure I have time…"  
"You know, everyone thinks I'm either taking potions to make myself smarter, or I have some kind of super brain, to take on what I do… but you want to know my secret? I take breaks, I treat myself to ten minutes a day where I can read a book or take a walk or do something that isn't studying. It's how you stay sane." She gave him a serious look and was surprised when he smiled.  
"You think I'm crazy, Granger?"  
"I think you need a decent night's sleep, and if you can't sleep… read that, I'm not kidding when I say there's a reason I'm the only one who bothers to read it. One chapter and you'll drift right off. At least your homework is done."  
A cold feeling settled in Draco's stomach, his homework might be finished for now, but his work was only just starting.


	5. Chapter 5

" _Hey, Granger"  
_ "Malfoy I'm concentrating."  
"Yes I can see that, considering you haven't noticed that your bench is on fire."  
" _What?!_ "  
Hermione frantically began to smother the small blaze that had previously been her pile of carefully weighed ingredients for her potion. Ron tried to help, but all that happened was he set his own robes on fire too. Eventually Harry set everything straight with a jet of water from his wand, "Sorry Hermione."  
The water had taken care of the fire, but it had also drenched her and her potion, so that her meticulously crafted draught was now a steaming soup of nothing. "It doesn't matter," she sighed but they all knew she was lying.  
Professor Slughorn squeezed over and tutted, "Not quite your usual standard today, Miss Granger. Is everything alright? No one burnt?"  
"No Professor, just my sleeve," Ron held up his arm and revealed a hole in his robes.  
Hermione pushed her hair from her face, accidently wiping soot across her nose as she did so. "I'm just- it's… it's just not my morning Professor. I'll clean this up."  
"Well better luck next lesson," he mused and began to exclaim over Harry's perfect potion.  
Hermione was not in the best mood after class, especially when Ron and Harry caught up to her and began to talk Quiddich. When they noticed her silence they prodded, "What's wrong Hermione? You've been distant all day."  
"I just didn't sleep very well last night."  
"Well I won't tonight," Ron said nervously, turning a faint shade of green.  
"You're overthinking this," Harry encouraged him, "You're a great Keeper, you just need to believe in yourself."  
"You're coming tomorrow right Hermione?" Ron asked.  
She smiled, "Of course I am."  
"Going to cheer on McLaggen?" a sneering voice asked and the three of them turned to see Draco smirking at them.  
Harry put an arm around Hermione's shoulder and steered her up the stairs towards the Entrance Hall, "What's his problem?"  
Hermione heaved a sigh, "I really have no idea."  
Ron was frowning, "What did he mean by you would be cheering on McLaggen?"  
"Again, I don't know how Malfoy's mind works, so stop asking!" she snapped then felt immediately bad. "Look, I'm sorry, I'm just really tired. I have a free period after break, so I'm going to head back to the Common Room."  
"Not the library?" Ron joked.  
Hermione glanced over her shoulder and saw Draco heading up the main staircase, "No. No I don't think I'll be going to the library today."

Draco arrived at his Charms class late and grumpy. He had spent his break in the bathrooms splashing water over his face and trying to get a grip. He didn't know why he'd been cruel to Hermione… well he did, but he didn't want to believe the answer. He couldn't actually be jealous, not of McLaggen, and certainly not of Weasley. What was he thinking?  
He ran a hand through his hair and tried to focus on Professor Flitwick's lecture. The hour dragged so slowly he thought perhaps time had actually frozen, and when finally the bell rang and he was faced with a free period he debated whether or not to head for the Room of Requirement or go the library.  
It was foolish, she wouldn't even be there, she would have a class. Still, ten minutes later he was sitting at her table, his school work spread in front of him and an unsettling feeling in his stomach. This couldn't be happening to him. His life, his family's lives, depended on him pleasing his Master. He couldn't be developing feelings for someone, especially not Hermione Granger.  
Several Hufflepuffs at the next table jumped when Draco let out a loud groan and dropped his head into his open textbook on the table. What was he going to do?

* * *

 _A little short and sweet chapter to tide over until I finish the next one which is a bit longer. Would really love some feedback so if you have anything you're loving or hating, any random errand thoughts, or ideas of the kind of things you'd like to see in following chapters then please leave a review!_

 _-H_


	6. Chapter 6

" _Hey, Granger-_ I uh, wasn't expecting to see you here."  
"It's the library, Malfoy."  
"Yes but you eh, haven't been here in a few days. And it's nine o'clock in the morning, on a Sunday."  
"Your observation skills are astounding," her tone was clipped and she stretched up to try and reach the Astronomy book she'd come for from a high shelf.  
After a moment of watching her struggle Draco sighed and reached up to get it for her, placing it in her arms and trying not to concentrate on how close they were standing.  
"Thank you," she said quietly. In truth she had been avoiding the library, avoiding Draco, for over a week now. She wasn't sure why, but his comment before the Quiddich try-outs had stung, and until now she thought that she'd just been being stupid, but she was struggling to meet his gaze.  
"I heard Weasley made Keeper… rumour is McLaggen was confounded."  
Hermione pursed her lips, "I don't know anything about that, and I don't want to talk about Quiddich."  
"I wanted to apologise-" he started, at the same time as she made an excuse to leave. "You're not studying here?"  
"The Common Room is quiet in the mornings, I- I don't need the space." She needed space from him.  
"Oh, yeah I guess my house must just be early risers."  
In truth he'd been in the Room of Requirement all night. The only good thing about Hermione's absence from the library for the past week was that he had finally been able to concentrate on his mission, he'd only stopped by as an alibi for why he hadn't been in his dormitory this morning. When he'd heard her humming from inside the stacks his stomach had soared, and he wished that he looked less dishevelled, less like someone who had spent the whole night stressing over a Vanishing Cabinet. She wasn't looking at him anyway, she was staring at the book in her hands like she was trying to bore a hole through the pages, so almost without thinking he reached out with his hand and gently tilted her chin up, "I am sorry, for my attitude the other week. It wasn't kind."  
"I don't normally think of you as being kind," she told him bluntly.  
"I deserve that." He dropped his hand back to his side, unsure of what to say to make her understand because he himself didn't understand at all. He didn't know what he wanted, other than… "You sure you don't want to stay, and study?"  
"You don't have any books with you." She was too observant, it was one of the many, many things that made getting close to her risky.  
He swallowed, "I wasn't really planning on studying this morning."  
Her large brown eyes were trained on his, now he had her attention he really had it, and it was making his knees a little weak. Had she always been this pretty? "Why are you in the library at nine o'clock on a Sunday morning, Draco?"  
"I find it peaceful."  
"So you're not stalking me then?"  
"You've not been here remember, if I had to wonder I'd think you were avoiding me," he joked.  
It happened then, a slight flicker in her gaze, a glance down, and he realised he was right. She had been avoiding him, but why? Was it because he had been cruel to her? Had she found spending time with him scared her like it scared him?  
His smile faded a little, "I can probably guess why."  
"It's difficult to study with someone when you're not sure if they're going to be unpleasant or not," she was surprised at her own honesty, "I didn't want to get distracted."  
"I wasn't aware I distracted you."  
She flushed, "I meant your attitude, it's difficult to ignore someone when they're insulting you."  
"Then I will be on my best behaviour and easy to ignore."  
Hermione giggled and wasn't sure why, "You are beginning to become even more infuriating than usual, why do you want to study with me anyway?"  
He shrugged, "Maybe it's useful to study with the brightest Witch in the year."  
"To cheat?"  
"To learn," he gave her a playful look she'd never seen on him before.  
With a sigh and a smile, she conceded.


	7. Chapter 7

" _Hey, Granger,_ " Draco appeared at Hermione's shoulder outside the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom and Harry and Ron instantly went to their wands.  
He frowned at them and held out something to Hermione, "Thanks for the loan."  
She took the quill he was offering and tried to send him an apologetic look, but he'd already turned away and entered the classroom.  
"What the heck was that?" Ron demanded.  
Hermione resisted the urge to roll her eyes, "I loaned him a quill, he wasn't about to attack me."  
"When did you lend him a quill?" Ron looked like he was having a strange dream and couldn't wake up.  
They entered the classroom and took their seats, "In the library at the weekend. He was studying and needed a quill, I leant him one, it's not exactly a big deal."  
"Only a few years ago you punched him in the face!"  
"Yes, because at the time he deserved it, but when he asked to borrow stationary I wasn't overcome with the same kind of rage. I can't think why."  
Harry was picking up on her sarcasm and said to Ron "It is just a quill, leave it alone."  
"It was just weird, him being nice to you."  
"Would you have preferred it if he were horrible?"  
"I would have preferred it if he hadn't spoken to you at all," Ron muttered and Hermione did roll her eyes.  
Harry sighed, knowing they'd probably argue about this for days. He glanced across the classroom and caught Draco watching their argument out of the corner of his eye, he was trying to be sly about it, but he was definitely listening to Hermione and Ron bicker. When she finally had enough of his temper she snapped at him not to speak to her for the rest of the lesson, and Harry swore he saw Draco turn away with a smile.  
He didn't have much time to think on it, because at that moment Snape entered the room and slammed the door behind him in his cursory way of beginning the lesson and a silence fell on the room. They were working on non-verbal spells so the lesson was mostly held in a frustrated silence with people screwing up their faces as they concentrated, but just before the bell Hermione successfully managed to summon a book from across the room without uttering a sound, and several Gryffindors let out impressed whoops.  
Snape was instantly riled, "That is enough of your childish nonsense! This is a classroom, not the Quiddich pitch! Miss Granger, retrieve that textbook from the floor immediately."  
Hermione did as she was told with a rush of heat in her cheeks and Harry felt his fists clench, if it had been any of the Slytherins who had successfully managed the spell then Snape would probably have given them fifty house points. The bell rang and the class was dismissed, and Hermione shoved her wand through her belt and left the classroom with an annoyed grimace.  
In the corridor Harry caught her and tried to cheer her up, "Listen, Hermione you know what Snape is like. You're the first person in the year to manage a non-verbal spell without passing out in the attempt, and that's amazing."  
She gave him a small smile, "Thank you Harry, where is Ron?"  
They both turned and saw him stalking off down the corridor in the direction of dinner, "Of for goodness sake," she snapped, "He only returned a borrowed quill, honestly what is Ron's problem?"  
"He's stressed," Harry tried to explain, "Quiddich practice hasn't been going that great and people are beginning to think I should have picked someone else."  
"You mean McLaggen?"  
Harry shrugged, "He's too arrogant if you ask me, and Quiddich is a team sport. Ron will get better, he's just putting himself under too much pressure."  
She flicked her hair over her shoulder, a few strands getting stuck under the strap from her backpack, "Well I'm fed up of Ron only being nice to me when Quiddich is going well, it's hardly fair. Tell him he can apologise next time he saves a goal won't you?"  
She turned and made to head back to Gryffindor Tower, her annoyance making her less hungry, only when she rounded the corner she bumped into someone.  
"Are you okay?" Draco asked.  
"You mean because my best friend is being an ass, or your head of house is biased and also an ass?"  
He gave her a sympathetic look, "Both?"  
"I'm fine, just annoyed."  
"Are you not heading for dinner?"  
"So I can sit and have Ron passively aggressively eat his next to me? No thanks, I thought I'd have an early night."  
"You can't just sit by yourself in the Common Room all evening."  
"Well I'm not in the mood to study."  
Draco made a face, "Not in the mood to study? Are you feeling alright, Granger?"  
She gave him a beseeching look, "I have other interests."  
"Like what?" When had he taken a step closer?  
She swallowed, "I like reading."  
"That's pretty close to studying. What about art?"  
"Oh no, I'm terrible at drawing."  
"Music?"  
"Never learned to play an instrument."  
"Sports?  
She laughed, "If you want to talk about Quiddich I will walk away right now, I get enough of that from Harry and the Weasleys."  
"Then what do you like, Hermione?"  
She cleared her through, "I like Astronomy- not just studying it, I like to look at the stars. If Divination wasn't such a con I would probably like the stories behind the Astrology side, but I just can't take it seriously. My dad used to take me to the Planetarium –a muggle thing- where you can view the stars. I also like to dance, but I don't think that's something I can really do at Hogwarts."  
Draco laughed, "Not unless there's a secret disco we don't know about."  
"Not that kind of dancing," she joined in his laughter, "I took ballet lessons as a child, I had to give them up when I came here."  
"It sounds like you had to give up a lot to come here," he commented.  
It wasn't something she liked to give much thought to, "Nothing is perfect," she said finally, "I miss my family and elements of my old life, but this one is much better…" she realised that he was staring at her, "You know… with magic and everything."  
Draco leant against the wall, "I've never had a life without magic."  
"It might do you good," she said dryly.  
"Perhaps it would…" he mused.  
They were left standing in a semi-comfortable silence, Draco leaning against the wall and Hermione only inches away, watching him with interest. She had never really studied Draco Malfoy before, usually she saw his sneer and turned away. Now she could see that he all the bearings of a high-born; sculptured cheekbones, a slim neck and delicate, winged eyebrows. He was pale too, chalky skin and platinum hair, he was almost like a ghost. And his eyes, that were staring right back at her, were like chips of flint, with just a hint of pale blue… he had moved off of the wall and was standing right in front of her, "I should probably go."  
She nodded, suddenly unable to speak.  
He brushed past her but before he disappeared he said, "That was really impressive today by the way, you really do put the rest of us to shame."

* * *

 _A slightly longer chapter today- I really am hoping that those of you reading and following (much appreciated) are enjoying this as much as I'm loving writing it. Would really love some feedback at this point. The pace of the story will have to pick up in the next few chapters so I hope it doesn't come across as rushed- but if there's anything that you'd like to see more of (or less of) let me know!_

 _-H_


	8. Chapter 8

"HEY, GRANGER!"  
Hermione looked up to see Neville waving madly at her, Seamus was next to him, grinning. She clambered up the wooden steps of the stadium and took her seat next to them, "You almost missed the start," he told her.  
"I know, I was late coming down from breakfast… ooh here they come!"  
There was a blur of scarlet as the Gryffindor team raced into the sky on their broomsticks and their stand went wild. Somewhere in the crowd they heard the roar of Luna's famous lion hat and Hermione unfurled her Gryffindor banner which she passed to Neville and Seamus to help wave. For all that she complained about the constant Quiddich conversation, she quite liked the live games, though it was odd not to be sitting next to Ginny- who usually kept up a quiet commentary for the finer details of the game that went straight over Hermione's head.  
The boys were welcoming though, "I hope Ron holds it together," Seamus commented with a mouthful of chocolate, a piece of which he offered to Hermione. She took it, grateful for the warmth it spread through her against the chilly wind. "He's been a mess all week, barely sleeping."  
"I thought he was going to throw up at breakfast," Neville giggled.  
"I'm sure he'll do great," Hermione said with a touch of disapproval- she hadn't forgotten Harry's slip of hand over Ron's pumpkin juice.  
As she spoke up in his defence, she noticed that two rows in front Lavender Brown was giving her a very haughty look. Hermione tried to ignore it, but she couldn't help the slight feeling of rejection- as much as she liked her friends, it had always baffled her why it was so rare for other girls to like her. She didn't deliberately make friends with boys, but she had to admit they were often a lot easier to get along with.  
She was so distracted by Lavender and Pavati's whispering that she missed the first goal; the Gryffindors roared and jumped to their feet, Hermione was dragged up when the two next to her yanked the banner into the air.  
When the game was won she made her way down to the changing rooms to meet Harry and Ron, both in a Quiddich high and very windswept. Only there was little celebrating done, as Harry revealed that he had not in fact cheated and spiked Ron's juice with the luck potion that morning, and Ron had become gruff and offended that Hermione had presumed he should need it. In the end she brushed away from them both and hugged her elbows as she made her way back up to the Castle. Most of the students were already reaching the doors, but near the greenhouses she spotted Malfoy, still in his Quiddich robes… was he waiting for her?  
When she was close enough he stepped out towards her, he didn't look particularly happy. His boots were caked in mud and he was clutching his broomstick rather tightly, his lips thin, "Can I help you?"  
She almost blushed, clearly he hadn't been waiting on her. She made to utter… something, she wasn't sure what, when another voice from behind her snapped, "Oh just piss off Malfoy!"  
Harry and Ron must have been walking much faster, or she had been walking much slower than she'd realised, because they were passing behind her and it was them Draco had snapped at. Hermione glanced at Ron who was studiously ignoring her, and then at Harry who made a weird face like he wanted to apologise for Ron's behaviour, but not in front of Malfoy, so instead ended up with a strange grimace and almost tripped going up the steps into the Castle. Hermione paused as they walked away and jumped high into the air when Draco touched her arm.  
"You don't look happy."  
"Neither do you."  
"Well I just lost the match- what's your excuse."  
Hermione stayed silent, still watching after Ron. She could sense Draco's disapproval and turned to face him, "I'd say I thought you played well, but I don't really know enough about Quiddich to know if it's an actual compliment or not."  
His sharp eyes were on her, "You were watching me play?"  
"Well-" she flushed, "I was watching the game."  
He was smiling at her, and not his usual arrogant smirk, but a genuine gentle smile that she liked a lot better. A sudden loud chattering drew both of their attention to the rest of the dejected Slytherin team who were now making their way back from the pitch. Draco swallowed, "Uhm…"  
"I'll go," Hermione said quietly, "I don't think they'd like seeing us together."  
"They'll be annoyed- at losing the match."  
"And they don't like me, because I'm Muggleborn," she reminded him.  
Draco looked like he had something sharp stuck in his throat, "I'm sorry," he said finally.  
Hermione felt herself smile slightly at him, because she actually believed that he was. Then she turned on her heel and disappeared through the double doors, missing the way his eyes followed her, but also missing the way the mask descended once she was out of sight and the rest of his friends arrived. Nothing about their growing friendship was easy, and that was only going to get worse as the Dark Lord got stronger. Draco knew that the fair thing to do would be to stop now, stop while he could, and not risk either of them getting hurt; but every time he tried to stay away, or gave in to the beliefs he had been brought up with, she would say or do something that shattered every effort he made. And it was getting more and more difficult to keep his attraction to her hidden.


	9. Chapter 9

" _Hey, Granger,_ " Draco's voice was soft and sudden in Hermione's ear and she was surprised at the sense of elation she felt when she realised who had snuck up on her. They were in the library –of course- and it was a busy Monday evening packed with students tackling their first set of homework for the week.  
"Hey," she whispered back, hugging her books to her chest and giving the room a furtive glance. No one was looking their way, most people had their noses pressed against parchment, but she was expecting Ginny to join her any moment.  
Draco had changed from his school robes into a warm, navy jumper that brought out the highlights of blue in his eyes, and he was standing so close that she could smell the faint scent of cologne he was wearing; it was warm and spiced and she blushed furiously when she realised she wanted to take a step closer. He seemed very relaxed considering there were so many people around, since their conversation after the Quiddich match she hadn't seen much of him, and when she had he had been surrounded by his Slytherin friends and she felt very uncomfortable being near him in that group. What also wasn't making her growing friendship –and she could admit now to herself that it was a friendship- any easier, was that Harry was growing ever more suspicious about his nemesis, and was convinced he was a Death Eater working for Voldemort.  
He cleared his throat, "I uh- didn't know if you wanted to study?"  
"I'm- uhm, meeting Ginny. I'm helping her with her Astronomy charts, she'll be here any moment." She glanced around again and missed the flash of disappointment on his face.  
"That's okay," he said when she turned back to him, "I'm not used to you studying with other people."  
"Other than you," she said, "But she's struggling with fitting in homework and Quiddich and her boyfriend, so I offered…"  
"I see, well I'll leave her in your capable hands, I don't think she'd like to be tutored with me around."  
Hermione wanted to disagree, but knew there was no point. Malfoy had spent too many years taunting Ron and the Weasley family for her to come up with any argument that Ginny wouldn't hex him the second he joined their table. There was a moment of awkward silence before she said very softly, "It does seem unlikely that either of our groups of friends will ever like us spending any time together- studying, that is."  
Draco was looking down, "You're probably right, as usual." He took a half-step back as he made to walk away before adding, "I guess that it'll just have to be our secret then, for now."  
Hermione smirked, "Yes our secret and the rest of the people who use the library."  
"No one here seems to care."  
"No one here seems to notice," she corrected him. "Gryffindors and Slytherins aren't traditional friends."  
He gave her a considering smile as he walked backwards towards the desks in the centre of the room, "Well- some traditions can be broken."  
Hermione was still smiling to herself when Ginny arrived, dumping her bags down at the table she had secured from them, in her favourite spot by the window, "Sorry I'm late- Dean and I… well he was being annoying."  
"What was he doing this time?" she asked, trying not to notice how Draco had run his hands through his hair so that it was sticking up in all directions; he had chosen a table on the other side of the room, but he was still in her line of sight. Luckily, Ginny had her back to him.  
She shook out her long hair and told her, "He was insisting he could help me with my homework so I could stay in the Common Room, and it didn't matter how many times I told him it'll be much faster for you to just explain things to me, and that I haven't had much time to actually spend time with you lately because of Quiddich practice, and that the Common Room is so freakin' loud that… well he just wasn't listening. So I just got up and left."  
Hermione laughed, "He'll have loved that."  
"Why do boys think that they know what we want better than we do? If I'd wanted his help I'd have asked him, and any time we study together we just end up making out, which would be great but this chart is due tomorrow! Do you have any idea how distracting it is to try and concentrate when you're sitting next to someone you can't stop fantasising about?"  
Hermione was mortified when she felt herself go scarlet and Ginny raised her eyebrows, "Well apparently you do."  
"No! No I don't I just… it doesn't matter."  
Ginny was now grinning and leaning across the table with her arms folded in front of her, "Oh no I think it does. Are you being distracted by someone Hermione? Is that why you keep escaping to the library from the Common Room?"  
It was taking all of her willpower not to glance at Draco, and she prayed he couldn't hear any of their conversation. She instead forced herself to look Ginny in the eye and said, "What do you mean I keep escaping to the library?"  
"Oh please, like we all haven't noticed that you've stopped studying in the Common Room. You're here every day! Even you can't have that much homework!"  
"Well sadly I do have that much homework, and me coming here has nothing to do with boys… you said it yourself, the Tower is just too noisy." When Ginny didn't look convinced she added, "Plus, if I'm being honest, I'm struggling to be around some of the others at the moment, not Harry and Ron, but- well, Lavender and Parvati are being a little…"  
"Bitchy? Annoying? Completely superficial and vapid?"  
She smiled, "Intense was the word I was going to use, but yes those also fit. I know Lavender likes Ron, and for some reason that means she hates me."  
"For _some reason_ that appears to be the case," Ginny said meaningfully.  
Hermione threw up her hands, "We're not here to gossip, that's for the Common Room, we're here to finish your Astronomy charts so you can get back to fantasising about Dean."  
Ginny pouted, "You're probably right, but I have missed you since term started back. I feel like we've barely seen each other."  
"Well," Hermione pulled out her quill and spread the half-completed star chart out between them, "You have my full and complete attention now."  
As Ginny bowed her head to start analysing the movements of the stars, Hermione caught Draco's eye as he came out of the stacks close to them. She hadn't seen him get up from his table, and she didn't know how long he had been within ear-shot of her and Ginny's conversation, but she was sure that she saw, or thought she saw, him drop her a very subtle wink.


	10. Chapter 10

" _Hey, Granger_ do all of your clothes come from your grandmother's wardrobe, or is your taste really just that bad?"  
Draco cringed as Pansy let out a shrill giggle at her own terrible joke and tried to focus on his Potions essay that was due to be handed in to Slughorn first thing the next morning. He was sure that this was not going to be his finest work, and wished that he could ask his preferred study partner for some advice, unfortunately as they drew closer and closer to winter more Slytherins were starting to abandon the dark dungeon Common Room for the bright library- so he was surrounded by his housemates and Hermione was back in her secluded corner without him.  
She didn't seem bothered, by either her isolation or Pansy's ridiculous comments, which bothered him a little. Did she like that she was finally being left to study in peace? He knew she liked to work alone, but he had been getting so used to their comfortable silence and occasional furtive glances that he was finding working with anyone else maddening. Did she miss him?  
He remembered the snippet of overheard conversation she had with the Weasley girl, the one that had confirmed his suspicions that some of the tension in Gryffindor house was an element of competition between Hermione and Lavender Brown for Ron's attention- which, in Draco's opinion, was completely ludicrous. He tried to push it from his mind, as the sensation of intense jealousy he felt at the thought of Hermione liking anyone else in that way was difficult to conceal and he didn't want his friends picking up on it, and instead tried not to snap at Goyle who was attempting to learn the theory behind the Switching Spell, something most of their year had perfected back in forth year. He knew he shouldn't judge his friend for having to resist his Transfiguration OWL, but when he was being so obviously stupid it was quite difficult.  
Unfortunately for his concentration and essay, Pansy was not finished on the subject of her favourite victim. "I mean look at her hair, hasn't she heard of anti-frizz or does she think that the volume distracts from her ugly face?"  
Blaise was lazily reading through his own work and muttered, "You know Pansy with the amount you go on about her, some people would think you might be jealous."  
"Jealous? Of Hermione Granger, please! What exactly is there to be jealous of? If I looked like she did and was so unpopular and such a teacher's pet I'd jump off the astronomy tower."  
There was a sour taste in Draco's mouth and he determinedly crossed out a spelling mistake so he wouldn't make a comment he was sure he'd regret, that in his opinion Blaise had hit the nail directly on the head, and from where he was sitting there was plenty Pansy could be jealous about when she was compared to Hermione. He felt her hand on his leg, just above the knee and he jumped, "Do you mind?"  
"What do you think Draco?" she simpered, apparently unaware that this reaction to her was in distaste not pleasure, "Would you rather hook up with the Giant Squid, or Hermione Granger?"  
He rolled his eyes and moved his leg so that her hand fell away, "Oh or how about Hagrid or Hermione… they both have hair issues, facial hair I mean… she does know girls aren't supposed to have moustaches right?"  
Pansy's voice was so loud it was carrying across the entire library, and several people were turning in their chairs with annoyed frowns. A few Hufflepuffs at the next table were muttering angrily, and Draco knew several of them were friends with Hermione. The lady herself had gotten up from her table and had disappeared into the stacks, "The book on discreet hair removal charms isn't in that section," Pansy called out in a stage whisper, "It's over by the "How to be popular guide" and "How to come to terms with being a lowly Muggleborn"!"  
"Okay Pansy give it a rest," Draco snapped and when she narrowed her eyes at him he added, "This is the library, if you wanna taunt her then do it where I'm not trying to make sure I don't fail Potions. Besides, Blaise is right, you just sound desperately jealous and like you're trying to hide it, it's not very attractive."  
Her mouth fell open and several of his friends around the table scoffed. In one fluid movement he pushed away from the table and headed towards the shelves, "Where are you going?" she called after him.  
"To find a book- traditionally it's what the library is for!" Her mouth opened and closed again and Draco left her at the mercy of the laughter of the Slytherins at their table.  
In the stacks he nipped through a narrow gap between the shelves into the row he'd seen Hermione flee into. She was perched on one of the narrow tables with a book open in her lap and a quill behind her ear; she was working on Arithmancy, which was the reason for the crease between her brows as she concentrated. He almost felt bad for interrupting her, but before he could open his mouth she said, "If you're coming to apologise for Pansy just don't bother, I'm well used to it, and I'm busy."  
He hesitated, he wanted to find a way of explaining how stuck he felt, between the person he was supposed to be surrounded by his Slytherin friends, and the person that he was around her, who didn't believe a word of the lies Pansy liked to spread and wanted to protect Hermione from them. Her anger was both justified but also off-putting, and he didn't know what he could say or do to make it better. She was chewing at her lip and upon closer inspection he could see that she wasn't really reading the book in her hands, only pretending to, presumably so she wouldn't have to look at him; he suspected she had darted into the shelves to hide the fact she wanted to cry and that only added to the knot of frustration in his stomach.  
Instead of saying anything he reached out and gently closed the book. Hermione still didn't move or meet his gaze, so he stepped closer and touched his fingers to her cheekbone, running them down to underneath her chin which he carefully lifted. He could see the fierce determination in her eyes that she wasn't going to cry, but they were also shining.  
"Don't you think it's ironic that a girl who looks like a horse crossed with a goblin has such delusions of grandeur she shouts ridiculous insults about other people's appearances, even though nobody agrees with her?"  
"I think it's pathetic."  
"I think that someone as intelligent as you should know better than to listen to her. She's got a lot of nerve to comment on anything about your appearance, she does it because she's jealous of you."  
"I highly doubt that." Hermione turned her head so that his hand fell away and stood up off the desk.  
Draco moved to block her exit, "She is, it's obvious to everyone, apparently except from her and you. Even Blaise was accusing her of it just now- she's not got much else going for her other than what she perceives to be the advantage of blood status. And while you are Muggleborn, and in the magical world that comes with a lot of ancient prejudices, you're also top of our year, street smart as well as book smart, and…" You're beautiful, he wanted to say, but the words got lost in his nerves, "And you have a lot more going for your than you realise," he finished lamely with a slight flush in his cheeks.  
Hermione's dark eyes were troubled, it wasn't just Pansy's words that were playing on her mind, there was something a lot deeper bothering her, but before he could press to find out what he heard his name being called, "DRACO WE'RE GOING BACK TO THE COMMON ROOM. THIS PLACE IS FULL OF NERDS AND THE STUPID LIBRARIAN IS THROWING US OUT."  
He swallowed his embarrassment and Hermione looked up at him and said quietly and with judgement, "Your friends are waiting for you."  
"Yours aren't perfect," he felt the need to point out, "Though for the record, I am sorry for Pansy."  
"You keep apologising to me," she said with a little heat, "For Pansy, for people calling me Mudblood, for your friends being cruel to me… but those are just words Draco, simply apologising for the prejudices of the world isn't going to change them. You won't break any traditions by hiding in stacks and whispering apologies."  
He reached out and cupped her cheek with his hand, "I don't know what else to do."  
She wrapped her fingers around his wrist and said firmly, "Well figure it out, because I've got enough to worry about as it is without making needless enemies of your friends if this friendship isn't going to ever move out of the stacks."  
Then she was gone, back to her table and her books and her solitude, and Draco found himself heading back to the cool, dark Common Room with his friends- more confused than ever.

* * *

 _I think this is my first ever fanfic I've posted that I've hit ten chapters and zero reviews... appreciate the favourites and the follows, and if you're all enjoying it and the lack of comments is because no one has any complaints then fantastic! I'm aiming to up the pace now as I want to progress the story, got a few short, punchy chapters on the way before building up to a big one where things start to kick off._

 _I hope you're still with me! Enjoy!_

 _-H_


	11. Chapter 11

"Hey, Granger! Are you paying attention?"  
Hermione jumped and turned to Ron who was frowning at her, "I'm sorry- I was thinking about something else. What were you saying?"  
"I was trying to tell you about Dumbledore's last lesson," Harry said quietly. They were in Herbology class, which was usually a good one to have a conversation in because there was so much going on, today they were working on Snargaluff stumps and it required them all to wear ridiculous protective goggles.  
Hermione snapped hers into place and listened to Harry's tale. "I think it's fascinating, it makes absolute sense to know as much about Voldemort as possible. How else will you find out his weaknesses?"  
At that moment Professor Sprout bustled past them and Harry quickly changed the subject to Slughorn's latest party that had taken place the night before. Ron was bursting with jealousy when he discovered she had met Gwenog Jones, the Quiddich player, and after they had dived into the stump between them and managed to retrieve a pod, she brought up the subject of the Christmas Party.  
At the very mention of it Ron managed to attempt to burst the pod they'd won from the plant so violently that it sprang from his grasp and bounced across the room, Harry went to retrieve it and Ron sneered, "And this is another party just for Slughorn's favourites, is it?"  
"Just for the Slug Club, yes," she said without thinking and immediately regretted it.  
The look on his face was almost reminiscent of the Slytherins and she felt her lips turn down in disappointment, "We're allowed to bring guests, and I was going to ask you to come-"  
Harry appeared back with the pod in hand, and stood awkwardly while Ron attempted to recover himself, "You were going to ask me?"  
"Yes, but obviously if you'd rather I got off with McLaggen…"  
"No, I wouldn't," he said and she took a deep breath.  
At that moment there was a shattering sound as Harry broke a bowl while attempting to continue their work so Professor Sprout didn't give them all detention for slacking. Hermione instantly jumped back into action and found the proper way to puncture it, trying to ignore the heat in her cheeks.  
For the rest of the afternoon she had an uncomfortable knot in her stomach, and she couldn't place it until she arrived at their afternoon Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson and saw Draco sitting at his desk; this couldn't be happening to her, she could almost get her head around being friends with Malfoy, and that was uncomfortable enough when it came to thinking about how her other friends would react, but she couldn't, just _couldn't_ have feelings for him in _that_ way. Then again, could she have feelings for Ron in that way?  
She was so preoccupied that she didn't raise her hand once all lesson, which apparently caught Malfoy's attention. "Everything alright, Granger?" he murmured as he passed her on the way to dinner.  
She nodded curtly and sped up to catch Harry and Ron.

Draco watched her go with a tight feeling in his chest. He'd found it almost impossible to find an excuse to talk to her after the incident with Pansy, and now watching her scamper after Weasley… he swallowed the sour taste in his mouth and did an about turn. He couldn't just sit and watch her from across the Great Hall, he had to put her from his mind, he had to focus. His mother had been writing him letter after letter after letter, and he was feeling the pressure of his workload and mission hype up more and more the closer they got to the holidays. He'd stopped sleeping, meals were losing all taste, and he knew he was barely keeping it together, the only moments he felt at all calm was studying with Hermione in the library, and if he had screwed that up then he wasn't sure it was worth bothering attempting to keep up with his classes.  
Let them fail me, he thought as he headed towards the Room of Requirement, only when he was halfway there he felt the beginnings of a familiar panic attack come over him and he dashed sideways through the nearest door. He was in a bathroom, luckily it was completely deserted, and he tried to calm himself by splashing water over his face and neck. What was he doing? So far in his mission to kill Dumbledore he'd managed to curse a random Gryffindor, and stand for hours staring at a broken Vanishing Cabinet; the room began to spin and he dropped to a crouch with his back against the wall and his head in his hands. What was he going to do?

* * *

 _As you may have noticed I've drawn from some actual dialogue and scenes from the book for this chapter- that will happen from time to time as this fic progresses, though for a few things the timelines may vary just slightly (but hey, it's fanfiction I'm allowed)_

 _I'm really grateful for the reviews guys, makes me a very happy author. While this is a shorter chapter it's important for the events of the next few so I hope you enjoy and be reassured the next is already written and ready to go, so happy reading._

 _-H_


	12. Chapter 12

"Hey, Granger," Harry said very softly. He had found Hermione in a quiet classroom, a halo of little birds fluttering above her head.  
"Oh, hello Harry, I was just practicing."  
It had been a day of big highs and harsh lows, Gryffindor had won another Quiddich game, Ron had been the hero of the day- and had found himself reaping the benefits of being centre of attention, with one girl in particular. Harry came to stand by her, not sure what to say, he'd never had to comfort a girl when she was upset before, and it was especially awkward to be stuck between his two best friends.  
"Ron seems to be enjoying the celebrations," Hermione found herself saying aloud. She was struggling to control the tremor in her voice, and it was a thorn in her pride that she couldn't stay composed. She didn't want to feel this way; hurt and jealous and confused.  
"Er…" Harry sounded like he wished the floor would open up and swallow him whole, "does he?"  
"Don't pretend you didn't see him," she said quietly, still focussing on the circlet of birds.  
At that horrible moment the door was flung open and to their mutual horror Ron and Lavender appeared, giggling madly. Hermione felt the last shred of her composure snap, it wasn't entirely Ron's fault, she hadn't told him or Harry the details of the stress she was under, the letters she'd had from home, but she was still angry he was being so insensitive and blind all the same; hadn't she asked him to Slughorn's party? Didn't he care about her at all, not even as a friend? She stood up off the teacher's desk and walked towards the door, but as she prepared to pull it open and face a very smug Lavender, she made a snap decision and threw out her wand in Ron's direction and shouted, "Oppugno!"  
The little birds she'd created swarmed into a frenzied attack and she left the room to the sound of Ron's yells, managing to hold her head high as she stalked past Lavender in the direction of the library.

When she arrived she was thankful to find it completely empty, most people had been at the Quiddich match and were now celebrating in their houses. She didn't have any work with her, and she would be damned before returning to the dormitory, so instead she headed for the section on Magical Legends and Mythology and pulled down a book equivalent of fairytales. Feeling almost instantly calmer surrounded by the smell of books and silence, she settled into one of the only armchairs in the library, and pulled her knees up to her chest as she curled up like a cat and began to read.  
A half hour later the sound of a door opening caught her attention and she glanced up, from her position in the chair she could see the entrance to the library and she knew who it was even from this distance; Draco's hair caught in the light from the lanterns but he didn't look up or wave, in fact he apparently hadn't even noticed she was there.  
He looked ill, she thought, his face looked gaunt with large dark circles under his eyes, and his jumper sleeves were handing off his wrists. He headed straight into the stacks and she could hear him moving the heavy ladders used to reach the higher shelves. She was curious, but the stress and drama of the day meant she didn't want to follow him and find out what he was doing here so late, she didn't want to risk feeling more conflicted than she already was.  
Instead she resettled herself, stretching her legs over the arm of the chair in a far more casual way than she normally perched when she was studying and opened the next chapter.  
In the background she could still hear him moving around, until eventually the room went quiet again. Hermione risked a glance up and her heart faltered when she found him watching her, he looked surprised, and more than a little weary. She didn't make any kind of greeting, if he didn't want to speak to her he didn't have to, so she dropped her eyes to her book once again.  
A moment later she heard the library doors close and the room echoed in silence, he had left without a word, finally the emotions of the day piled up and spilled over and Hermione began to cry softly. Still, she consoled herself, it was better to be where she belonged, with the company of books over that of her classmates.

* * *

 _I'm sorry there's been a longer gap between chapters this time- I'm currently in the process of organising a move between Scotland and New Zealand where I'll be working for a year, so things have been a bit hectic. But I have written the next two chapters, so fear not I'm not giving up! Shorter and not as cute a chapter this time- but I promise things get more interesting in the next few ;)_

 _-H_


	13. Chapter 13

_As promised a longer chapter this time- I LOVED writing this one and the next promises to be even juicer ;) not that I'm trying to emotionally blackmail you into continuing to read! I'd also love some reviews on this one- I spent a lot of time on it (and considering as I said in the last chapter I'm aiming to move over 11,000 miles in the next three weeks... yeah time is a little tight) please make it worth it!_

-H

* * *

"Hey, Granger," Draco stood behind the empty chair opposite her with a sheepish look on his face, "Do you mind if I sit?"  
She glanced around the busy library and gave a half-shrug, "Sit wherever you please."  
"I don't want to disturb you."  
She gave a heavy sigh and deliberately did not look up from her essay, he seemed to take the point and quietly dragged out the chair and began to busy himself with his own homework. After a long while of nothing but the scratching of quills and an uncomfortable silence, Hermione finished the main argument of her essay for Snape and sat back with a lament of relief. Draco glanced up at her and she caught his eye, "It's been a long week," she muttered.  
He knew all too well the feeling, he had spent almost every night in the Room of Requirement, and when he had managed to get any sleep at all, it had been restless and fitful. It was clear to her that he was suffering, though she was almost afraid to ask why with Harry's suspicions at the back of her mind, but at the same time… she had missed his company just a little.  
Since Ron and Lavender had become a couple she had found the Common Room almost unbearable, but she had Harry for company most days now, as even he seemed to find the two insufferable to be around which was comforting, even if it had the side-effect of Draco's prolonged absence.  
But Harry was at Quiddich practice tonight, and while she was still annoyed with Malfoy, she found that now he was in front of her she wasn't as angry as she had been. In fact she was more concerned than anything else, and it must have shown on her face because he asked, "Why are you frowning at me?"  
"Why are you sitting with me? I was under the impression you weren't speaking to me," she snapped back.  
"I thought you were the one who wasn't talking to me," his tone remained soft, "And the other night… you looked like you wanted to be alone."  
You were wrong, she thought, but said nothing. There was a beat of uncomfortable silence before Draco asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"  
"I don't know what you mean."  
"Something is clearly upsetting you, and I don't mean just my arrogant friends, or yours either for that matter," he gave her a knowing look and she blushed, was it that obvious that Ron and Lavender had upset her?  
Apparently it was, and she could tell that he disapproved. However what stopped her from getting annoyed at him judging her was the fact that he'd noticed at all, "I'd rather not talk about it," she whispered. He was still watching her closely and she flicked her hair out of her eyes, "I need to finish my conclusion, Snape is being overly critical with all my essays and I need to concentrate."  
"Do I distract you still?" he murmured quietly with a half-smile.  
"Annoyingly, yes."  
His smile developed into a full grin, and while it was nice to see it also highlighted how tired he looked, "Do you want to talk about what's going on with you, Draco?" she asked.  
His smile disappeared and he looked back down at his books, "No."  
She sighed inwardly, why were they even dancing around this friendship? It was so clear that it wasn't going to work, not when they couldn't trust one-another. Draco must have been thinking along the same lines because he suddenly said, "I'm not sleeping well, it's making me irritable."  
"You could try a sleeping draught?"  
"And endure a lecture on time-management and a bunch of questions from Madam Pomfrey? No thank you."  
"I meant you could brew one yourself, you have all of the ingredients from Potions," she said.  
"Yes, but who has the time," he joked, glancing up at her, the sparkle back in his eyes.  
"Well if you aren't sleeping anyway you could take the time," she joked.  
Draco winced imperceptivity, if only she knew, but the thought of her ever finding out gave him cold sweats. "I'd be worried I'd poison myself."  
"That's why you follow the instructions," she pointed out, flicking through her textbook idly. He admired the way the breeze from the pages moved her hair back from her eyes and he got lost in them for a moment, glancing away quickly when she looked back up at him.  
He smiled, "Ah, so that's where I've been going wrong in Potions. I was just throwing all of the ingredients in and hoping for the best."  
She giggled, "I'll go find you a recipe." She got up and headed for the Potions section of the bookshelves.  
He watched her go until she was out of sight, before making a –probably stupid- split-second decision to follow her. She was half-way up a ladder, pulling a leather-bound book off a high shelf when he reached her and when she looked down and realised he was there she missed a step and fell the last few feet to the floor, he caught her waist to keep her upright and she fell into him. "You scared me," she was a little breath-less and a slow flush was creeping up her neck.  
"I'm sorry, I-" he didn't know what to say, why had he followed her into the stacks? "I didn't mean to sneak up on you, but at least I was here to catch you."  
She pressed the book into his chest, "This is the one you're looking for."  
He stared down at her, "Thanks." He had one hand clutching the textbook, the other was still holding her waist. His throat suddenly went so dry he didn't think he could speak, and she seemed to have been inflicted by the same because her lips were parted just a fraction, like there were words on the tip of her tongue, but she was just looking up at him with a confused expression. There was a heartbeat of a possibility, before the moment broke and Hermione leant back enough that there was breathing room between them again.  
"I meant to ask," she began, "what were you doing in the library on Saturday night?"  
He grimaced, "Not sleeping. I was picking up a book for this- project I was working on… for a class… what about you? I would have thought that there was a big party happening in Gryffindor Tower?"  
His eyes were sparkling with something unreadable, he knows, she thought but out loud all she said was, "I wasn't in the party spirit. Ron and I… had an argument."  
"Was it you that left those claws marks all over him? I didn't peg you for the kind of girl who cat fights," he sounded amused.  
"It was hardly a fight, we just had a falling out."  
"And haven't reconciled?"  
Why does he care, she thought, and shook her head as an answer.  
Draco had never been more grateful for the stupidity of Ronald Weasley, "Well I know advice from a Slytherin might not be your first choice, but in my experience there's little point in getting mad when you can get even." He cocked an eyebrow and was surprised when she smirked.  
"I'm worried you're going to end up a bad influence on me, Malfoy."  
"I'm just looking out for you," he told her and was rewarded when she smiled.  
A seventh year Ravenclaw student suddenly appeared at the end of the aisle and saw them standing so close, immediately backing off with a confused frown. Draco coughed to hide his discomfort and Hermione said, "We should probably go back and finish our homework."  
"We probably should."  
"I mean, that's why we're in the library right?" she checked.  
He glanced down and the book he was holding and then back at her, "Yes, that's why."  
They re-emerged from the stacks and Hermione's stomach fell to her feet, Harry was waiting at her table and was watching the two of them with a dumbstruck expression, "Everything alright Hermione?"  
"I thought you were at practice," she squeaked.  
"It finished early- the rain made it so impossible to see," he gestured at the window and she saw smears of water on the glass. She hadn't realised a storm had begun.  
Harry was looking between her and Draco, "Was he bothering you?"  
Hermione opened her mouth, but before she could utter a word Draco snapped, "Typical Potter- bumbling in to a situation and running his mouth before he understands it."  
"We were studying," Hermione exclaimed, frustrated that a fight was apparently inevitable.  
Draco snorted, "But why would you want to study with me Granger? That'll be his next question."  
"It's not a ridiculous question," Harry said hotly, "Considering how you usually treat her."  
"And how do you treat her any better? You use her to stay ahead in class and then dismiss her whenever something more exciting than homework is going on!"  
Harry took a threatening step closer, "Hermione is one of my best friends, you have no idea what our friendship means. Who do you think you are to even question it? She despises you, we all do."  
"You use her!" Draco was fuming.  
"And you are never anything but awful to her, so stay the hell away from her!"  
"EXCUSE ME!" Hermione shouted, mortified that so many people had stopped studying to watch them, "But do you think I might be allowed to speak for myself?" They both turned to look at her and she said, "Harry I'm perfectly capable of defending myself, and Draco wasn't being his usual self, we were studying Potions."  
"His usual self," Draco muttered and Hermione rolled her eyes in exasperation. He had admitted to her that he was normally less than pleasant, it was hardly meant as an insult. "You know what," he continued, "I'm out. I'll leave you two alone so Potter can copy your answers to whatever essay he hasn't bothered to do yet."  
He threw the potions book she had just fetched for him down on the table, grabbed his bag and stormed out of the library leaving Harry and Hermione standing in an awkward silence while the rest of the library instantly broke out in whispers. Hermione began to gather her things to head back to the Common Room, and when Harry wasn't looking she tucked the book Draco had discarded into her bag.


	14. Chapter 14

_A short but rather eventful chapter this time- enjoy!_

* * *

"Hey Granger, wait up a second!" Hermione paused to wait for Harry as the rest of their class headed back to the Castle from their Herbology lesson, Ron had disappeared with Lavender as soon as the bell had gone, and Harry had done the decent thing of making a show of tying his shoelace so that he and Hermione didn't have to walk with them.  
Hermione had her Arithmancy class next, and Harry a free period, "You should get started on that reading for Professor Sprout," she advised him, "I know you have Quiddich practice tonight."  
"Will you be okay by yourself?"  
"You mean will I be okay stuck in the Common Room with Lavender while you and Ron train?" She forced herself to smile, "I'm sure I'll survive, I'll go to the library or something."  
Really she was hoping to bump into Draco, she still had the potion book in her bag and was hoping to be able to apologise for how things had gone yesterday. As it turned her the opportunity to see him came a lot sooner, as a large group of Slytherins were gathered in the Entrance Hall by the giant hourglasses that kept track of the House Points. She wasn't sure why they were loitering between classes, but she instantly spotted him by his pale hair and thought quietly that he looked awful; there were huge dark circles under his eyes and his smile looked tight as he chatted to Crabbe and Goyle. She felt her heart give a painful squeeze as Pansy Parkinson slithered over and ran a hand up his arm, pulling herself close to his side and whispering in his ear. There was a moment as she prepared herself to pass them on her way to the main staircase when he glanced up and caught her eye; she could tell he was still angry with her, especially as his eyes instantly zoned in on Harry and narrowed.  
Before she could decide whether or not to attempt to approach him, even with all of his friends around him, Pansy got annoyed with his lack of attention and reached up to tilt his chin so he was focused back on her. Only somehow as he turned and she stretched up their lips ended up meeting and several of their group whistled.  
Harry snorted, "Would you look at that, toxic people attract apparently."  
Hermione didn't think she could speak, Draco hadn't pulled away from Pansy, in fact he seemed to have pulled her even closer. She drew a steadying breath and forced herself to look away, only at the top of the stairs Ron and Lavender were saying a passionate goodbye as they were forced to go to separate classes.  
Something must have shown on her face, because Harry suddenly asked with a note of concern, "Are you okay Hermione, it's just you look kind of, well, mad."  
"You know what Harry, I was mad, but I just remembered an excellent piece of advice I recently received and I think I'm going to take it. I'll see you at dinner."

Later than evening Hermione arrived in the Great Hall for dinner, studiously ignoring Malfoy as she walked past him, before sitting down next to Harry at the Gryffindor table. He had been talking to Parvati who immediately stopped talking to beam at her; usually falsehood wasn't something Hermione bothered with, but tonight she made herself smile back just as brightly. "Hi Parvati! Are you going to Slughorn's party this weekend?"  
The other girl looked extremely disappointed, "No- I don't have an invitation, but I'd love to. You're going… aren't you?"  
"Oh yes," Hermione said happily, "I'm meeting Cormac and we're going together!"  
Harry almost choked on his pumpkin juice and Hermione deliberately ignored him in favour of turning her smile on Ron who had removed himself from Lavender and was wearing a dumbfounded expression, "WHAT?"  
"Cormac, Cormac McLaggen you mean?" Parvati asked a little too loudly.  
"That's right, you know- the one who _almost_ became Gryffindor Keeper?" she felt a little guilty putting so much emphasis on how close Ron had come to losing out on the team, then again the only reason McLaggen hadn't made it was thanks to Hermione.  
Lavender and Parvati were practically salivating for information, "You really like your Quiddich players don't you?"  
"I like _really good_ Quiddich players," she corrected them. "Pass the potatoes?"  
As she tucked into her dinner, coyly refusing to answer any more questions, she glanced up and met Draco's gaze. She was glad he'd been listening, and she smirked as she raised her goblet to her lips to take a drink, he had been right, getting even was far more satisfying that staying angry.


	15. Chapter 15

"Hey, Granger!" McLaggen boomed across the library and Hermione cringed inwardly. He strolled through the tables of students and braced himself on the back of the empty seat opposite her; it was the seat Draco usual sat in, though he had been absent from the library since the other day when he had kissed Pansy.  
She tapped her quill impatiently, "What can I do for you?"  
His smile was broad and over-confident. "Are you excited for this evening?"  
Tonight was Slughorn's Christmas Party, Hermione had planned her outfit with a lot of enthusiasm before she had agreed to go with Cormac, it was so rare she got to dress up and let her hair down, she would be a lot more excited to be going with… Ron? Draco? She swallowed hard, not that it mattered now.  
"Yes, I've heard that Slughorn has invited a lot of people, a Vampire too!"  
"I'm sure we're gonna have a lot of fun," he winked and she flushed, uncomfortable with the way he was looking at her. "I'll meet you in the Common Room at eight?"  
She glanced outside the window, the sun was hanging low in the sky, it was almost time for dinner. "Yes, yes I'll meet you then."  
He left and she let out a low breath, what was she doing? How had she, Hermione Granger, gone from having no boys ever look at her twice, to juggling three? Ron wasn't speaking to her, Draco wasn't speaking to her and now she was stuck with McLaggen who had no interest in anything she had to say, only how she looked on his arm.  
She groaned slightly and a quiet voice asked, "Regretting your decision to lower your standards?"  
Hermione jolted and spun around to see Draco leaning against the wall behind her, "Have you been eavesdropping?"  
"Don't flatter yourself Granger, I was just passing. It sounds like you're in for quite the evening." His eyes were glittering and she turned away, she hated it when he was like this, it reminded her of the way he used to be, the way he used to treat her. Besides, it was his advice she was following.  
"I'm looking forward to it," she lied, "I'm groaning because I don't think I'll ever finish my homework in time- I want to make sure I have enough time to get ready after dinner." She turned and made herself meet his gaze, "I think Cormac will be an interesting date… aren't you going to the party?" He didn't answer, and she felt her own temper spark, "Not going to take Pansy? Or do you not have an invitation?"  
She had hit a nerve, but by which part she wasn't sure. She could see his jaw work as he grit his teeth, clearly trying not to say whatever was on his mind.  
They were locked in a tense silence for several minutes, he didn't move from his stance against the wall, and she stayed rooted in her chair, finally the weight of it became too much, "I have an essay to finish," she muttered, turning away.  
"About Pansy…"  
"We're done, Draco," Hermione said quietly but sharply, "I'm tired, and I have a date to get ready for."  
He took a small step closer, "Don't go with him," he blurted.  
Hermione's heart felt like it was beating in her throat, "Why not? Ron can do as he pleases, so can you, why should I be the one to do as I'm told?"  
"You shouldn't go with him because he's an ape and you don't even like him."  
She began to gather up her books, genuinely annoyed she wasn't going to get to finish her homework now, "Yeah but you know what, he makes an effort to get me to like him, and that has to count for something."  
She threw her bag over her shoulder and faced him with a scowl, "I am not just the studious side-kick who is there to fix your homework, nor am I some secret library pen pal, I am worth a little time and effort, and I deserve someone who isn't ashamed to admit that we're together. Cormac might not be… perfect, but at least he isn't embarrassed of me."  
She reached for something and slammed it into his chest, "Here, you left this," before leaving without another word and Draco was left standing in the middle of the library, holding on to the potions book she'd saved, with a tight feeling in his chest.

That evening Draco was headed for the Room of Requirement, he couldn't get Hermione out of his mind, the thought of her dancing with McLaggen at that stupid party made him feel queasy. He hoped that focussing on the Vanishing Cabinet might be a good way of re-directing some of his frustration, but his mind was going in circles; Hermione, McLaggen, Pansy… why had he kissed Pansy? He shuddered at the memory of her bony hands grabbing at his arm, and scolded himself for getting carried away in the moment. Had he been trying to prove a point to Hermione? Well great point, Draco he thought savagely, really excellent point, it's worked out really well… for McLaggen. He was as stupid as Weasley.  
Draco was so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn't been paying attention to where he was going, the sound of laughter brought him to his senses and he realised that he was not facing the stretch of stone that concealed the Room of Requirement, but he was outside Slughorn's very packed office. He swallowed, he shouldn't be here, if he got caught there would be hell to pay, besides, he was wasting time and his Master was getting impatient. He also should not ruin Hermione's night.  
Despite his better judgement he ducked inside behind a group of Warlocks and clung to the shadows while he scanned the party. There was a hum of chatter and music, house elves were carrying silver trays of food, and most people were gathered in a circle around the centre of the room where a few people were dancing. Draco spotted Potter across the way, he was rather surprisingly with Luna Lovegood, who was wearing a very odd outfit that gleamed in the candlelight, but he had no interest in his rival this evening- where was she?  
And then he saw her, he had been looking for his signature bushy hair, but she had tamed it for the occasion and it was shiny and smooth, and she was wearing a beautiful silk dress in a very pale pink that brought out the rosy tints in her cheeks. He smiled, she looked incredible, but she wasn't in the main throng of revellers, she was hiding behind an archway while McLaggen prowled the guests apparently searching for her. A surge of anger went through him at the thought she had to hide, and it shook him how protective he felt over her. Without thinking he moved out of the shadows and snuck up behind her.


	16. Chapter 16

"Hey, Granger," Draco whispered in her ear.  
Hermione jumped, feeling his hands graze her waist as he steadied her, his breath was soft on the nape of her neck and she felt a surprised smile flirt across her face. She had been hiding from Cormac who had been attempting to wrestle her under the mistletoe all evening, and when she had felt someone come up behind her she had been nervous it was him, until she'd heard Draco's voice at which point she relaxed completely, almost leaning back into him embrace.  
"What are you doing here?" she asked him.  
"I could ask you the same thing, you wouldn't be avoiding your date would you?"  
"As it turns out you might have been right earlier, I shouldn't have come with him. He is an ape."  
He squeezed her side gently and she could tell he was trying not to laugh, "I never thought I'd see the day when Hermione Granger is admitting I was right and she was wrong."  
"Don't get used to it," she warned and turned to face him.  
His expression instantly drew, "What's happened to you?"  
She blushed furiously and wiped some of her lip-gloss off her chin, "I just escaped from Cormac."  
The scowl on his face was so intense that she almost laughed, "You have no right to be annoyed with me," she reminded him.  
"I- I wanted to speak to you, about that."  
"Here?" she looked around the party.  
"I don't want to spoil your evening, if you'd like me to leave you to your date…?"  
She shook her head, "But I don't want to talk about Pansy either."  
"Can I at least say that I regret it, and that I feel like a complete fool?"  
Hermione tried not to smile, "You can, though I don't see why it's any of my business."  
He swallowed, "So you listened to my advice about getting even and completely messed it up."  
"I don't see how I messed up," she said honestly, it had definitely made her feel more on even terms with Ron, and Draco was now standing right in front of her. "Can I ask why you're crashing Slughorn's party? Or was it just to tell me you wished you hadn't kissed Pansy?"  
"You're the one that said we should move our friendship out of the stacks."  
"Not into a corner of Slughorn's office."  
"Do you want to dance?" he had asked before he'd thought it through, and tried not to be offended when she glanced around, "Or would you be ashamed to be seen with me?"  
"At least I have an invitation," she shot back, "… and a date who is still looking for me."  
"And you don't think I could take McLaggen?"  
They both laughed and he reached for her, pulling her into the circle of him arms, "Or we can dance here?"  
"I didn't know you could dance," she commented quietly.  
"Maybe there's a lot you don't actually know about me."  
He twirled her in a tight circle and pulled her back into his chest and she surprised them both by giggling. He wanted to tell her that she looked beautiful, he wanted to run his hands through her hair that was for once not in frizzy spirals but was sleek and soft, he wanted to kiss her; the realisation was so strong and took him so by surprise that he almost stumbled. Luckily she hadn't seemed to notice, her eyes were cast down and he asked her, "What's wrong?"  
"How do we keep doing this?" she asked him, her gaze flicking up, her eyelashes casting shadows on her cheeks, "We go from hating one-another to… dancing in the shadows at a Christmas party within twenty-four hours. It's almost as if that when we're alone…"  
"We're alone just now," he pointed out.  
"And tomorrow when you're surrounded by your friends, or mine are around, what then?" They had stopped dancing and she was now just standing in his arms, her hands light on his chest- but she hadn't pushed him away yet.  
Draco swallowed, "I don't know," he said honestly. "It's just- there's so much… it's so complicated."  
"Why did you come here tonight, I have to know."  
"I wanted to see you, and I didn't want you to be here with _him_." He had admitted to being jealous, "Did you ask McLaggen because you saw Pansy kiss me?"  
"I saw you not push her away," she countered, biting her lip.  
He began to dance with her again, mostly for something to do to distract them both. He didn't want to think, he couldn't think, other than how much calmer he felt around her, even with the risk of them being caught and what it might mean. He leant forwards and wrapped his arm around her waist at the same time, so that his cheek was against the top of her head; as if he felt that not being able to look at her lips might make them easier to resist. Her hands curled so that she was gripping his shirt and the hand that wasn't around her waist came up to interlink with hers.  
They danced until the music stopped abruptly, and Slughorn began to give a loud and slightly slurred speech. They broke apart as the sudden loud interruption spooked them back into reality, and they stood still holding hands while the room stopped spinning.  
Hermione suddenly heard her name and peeked out from behind the archway to see McLaggen had cornered Harry to demand her whereabouts. Draco was watching her closely when she turned back to him, "I think we need to have a conversation- not in the library, and not here where…"  
"There are too many people around?"  
"Where there are too many distractions."  
"I thought I distracted you," he murmured with the ghost of a smile.  
She snorted, "You do, trust me."  
"Shall I go?"  
She didn't want him too, but her absence was now noted and she knew she'd have to face them eventually. "I should let McLaggen down."  
"Not too gently," he said bluntly and she shoved him.  
"Hermione?" It was Harry and when he rounded the corner she gave a panicked glance over her shoulder only to see that Draco had disappeared.  
He grinned when he saw her, "Hiding from McLaggen?"  
"Something like that," she pushed her hair back from her face and fanned herself to try and hide the fact she was flushed. Seeing Harry chased away the last of the hypnotic feeling dancing with Draco had created, she didn't know what she would have done if he had found them together.  
They re-joined the party in time to see a disturbance breaking out, Filtch was storming his way into the centre of the room, with Draco's collar tight in his grip, and when Snape offered to escort him out and Draco's expression turned from annoyance into cold anger, Harry turned to Hermione and announced, "I know you think I'm crazy, but I'm going to follow them."  
"Harry wait!" she hissed, but it was too late, he had pulled out his invisibility cloak and was weaving through guests towards the door.  
Hermione considered her options; she could stay here and make excuses with Cormac, or she could follow her best friend and possibly discover whatever it was Draco was keeping from her. A moment later she found herself in the corridor, " _Harry_ ," she whispered, " _Harry where are you?"  
_ A hand came out of nowhere and suddenly she had been yanked under the invisibility cloak, "Hermione what are you doing?"  
"What I always do, backing you up. Now come on let's go."

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 _Hey guys, I've been really encouraged in the last week with the amount of follows and favourites, you're too kind. I hope that you're still enjoying the story, if you have any comments about the pace or the way the different characters are coming together then please leave a review and I'll take that on board._

 _I'm not here to make excuses but I am going to warn you that as I mentioned in a previous chapter I am about to move from Scotland to New Zealand, in fact I move on Saturday so while I have another few chapters written, I'm begging to you to grant me a little patience! I have almost 28 hours to kill in an airport and on planes in the next week so lots of writing will get done, but until I'm sorted with wifi I might have a short break between uploads. I should have one more chapter up before I leave, and I'm hoping that I won't be without internet for long, what I will say (and this isn't me trying to bribe you) is that the next chapter is a huge turning point in the story, it's going to be a good one!_

 _-H_


	17. Chapter 17

_Alright lads, as promised one final chapter before I hit the airport on Saturday. I really am hoping that the wifi at my hotel will be good enough to upload, otherwise I need to wait until I'm set up in my flat. I could have split this into two chapters very easily- but I decided why not post a much longer one since there might be a slight delay between uploads._

 _Reviews may also make my 28-hour plane ride a lot happier, just so you know!_

 _I promised that the previous chapters were building to a turning-point in the story... enjoy._

 _-H_

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" _Hey, Granger_ , _think you could try not to step on my foot_?" Harry whispered.  
"Sorry, but it's more difficult now than it was in first year, have you shrunk this thing?"  
Harry glanced sideways at her with a mock frown and she smiled back. They rounded the next corner and stopped dead at the sound of voices, "… cannot afford mistakes, Draco, because if you are expelled-"  
"I didn't have anything to do with it, all right?"  
"I hope you are telling the truth, because it was both clumsy and foolish. Already you are suspected of having a hand in it."  
"Who suspects me?" Malfoy snapped, "For the last time, I didn't do it okay? That Bell girl must've had an enemy no one knows about- don't look at me like that!" Together Harry and Hermione stepped a little closer, just as Draco took a threatening step towards Snape, "I know what you're doing," he said more quietly and with more venom, "I'm not stupid, but it won't work- I can stop you!"  
There was a long pause before Snape sneered, "Ahh, Aunt Bellatrix has been teaching you Occlumency, what are you trying to conceal from your Master, Draco?"  
Malfoy leant back and folded his arms over his chest, "I'm not trying to conceal anything from Him, you think I'm that stupid? I just don't want you butting in, this is my task, not yours."  
"So that's why you have been avoiding me this term? You have feared my interference? You realise that, had anybody else failed to come to my office when I had told them repeatedly to be there-"  
He laughed and it was cruel and high, the sound went straight through Hermione and she felt a little sick, "So put me in detention! Report me to Dumbledore!"  
"You know perfectly well I do not wish to do either of those," Snape said softly.  
"I know perfectly well that you _can't,_ not without pissing Him off, and even you aren't that stupid," Draco countered. "So how about you stop summoning me to your office, and leave me alone."  
"Listen to me!" Snape snapped, they were now arguing in whispers so Harry dragged a reluctant Hermione forward a few more paces. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear any more. "I am trying to help you, I swore to your mother I would protect you. I made the Unbreakable Vow, Draco…"  
His face twisted, "That's your problem. My mother needs to believe I can do this, Bellatrix does, and I don't care what you promised them, I do not trust you. I don't need your help, and I don't need your protection! It's my job, He gave it to me and I'm doing it… it's just- taking a little bit longer than I thought it would."  
"What is your plan?" Snape wasn't letting the matter drop.  
"It's none of your business! I have all the assistance I need."  
"Not tonight, you got caught, alone, without any backup. These are elementary mistakes Draco."  
"Screw you," he made to walk away and Snape caught his arm in a vice-like grip.  
"I understand that your father's capture and imprisonment has upset you, and I understand that his burden has now fallen to your shoulders whether you would have chosen it or not- and I admire your resolve to see the task the Dark Lord has set for you through, but you cannot do this alone. If you are caught the consequences would be most severe, do you understand?"  
Draco glared at him until he was released before he said, "I know what I'm doing, Snape. And if you don't leave me alone, I'll tell the Dark Lord that you're interfering in His instructions, or would you like to tell Him yourself that you don't think I'm capable, that you think He is wrong?"  
There was the sound of a door opening and closing as a couple snuck out of Slughorn's party in the corridor behind them and it appeared to end the argument as Snape drew himself to his full height and said ominously, "You will require my help before this is over, Draco. You know where to find me."

He swept away and Harry and Hermione had to flatten themselves against the wall as he passed. Draco too disappeared, in the opposite direction and once they were alone Harry breathed a triumphant sigh, "I _knew_ it!" he cried softly, "I told you that Malfoy was working for Voldemort!"  
Hermione remained silent, she didn't trust her voice to speak. "We need to get back to the party," Harry said suddenly, "Snape might notice that we're missing, I'm pretty sure he suspects I have this cloak… Hermione?"  
"You go," she said tensely, "I- I can't face McLaggen, just tell him I left with a headache won't you?"  
They pulled off the cloak and Harry began to walk backwards away from her, "Are you sure?"  
"Very, I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast."  
Once he was gone she took a breath for courage before darting after Draco, she had to talk to him, she had to find an explanation; how could she be falling for someone who was working for Voldemort, how could he be acting like he had feelings for her when he was… evil? A year ago she would have said that the word evil was perfect to describe Draco, but now… she entered the next corridor and saw him near the end of it.

 _"Draco!"_ Her voice echoed down the empty corridor and he stopped dead.  
She made herself walk to him, the sound of her shoes making clean, sharp beats on the stone floor, the flickering of the flames from the candles on the wall making their shadows seem huge. He still hadn't turned to face her, so when she was close enough she reached out and touched his shoulder, "We have to talk."  
"Not now, Granger."  
"Yes, right now," she insisted, then she took a deep breath and told him, "I heard you, talking to Snape. I heard everything."  
"Then why would you want to speak to me?" he snapped.  
"I have to understand, you must explain-"  
"I don't have to do anything," he spun around, his eyes flat and dark and furious, "I don't owe you an explanation, if you don't like what you heard then you shouldn't have followed me."  
Hermione decided that honesty, especially now, was her only option if she wanted him to trust her with the truth, "Harry followed you," Draco paled, "I followed him to make sure he didn't hex you."  
"Potter," he hissed, "Needs to mind his own damn business."  
"He's been right about you all year, he's been convinced since your fight on the train that you're a…"  
Draco took a step closer, his eyes boring into hers, "A what?"  
She couldn't say it, instead she whispered, "Please Draco, please explain this to me. The boy I've been getting to know, the one that was just dancing with me, he wouldn't be working for someone so awful, he wouldn't be part of a plan that is sure to see people get hurt."  
His eyes closed, "You don't know what you're talking about, you've heard a snippet of a much longer and more complicated conversation."  
"That's why I'm giving you a chance to tell me!"

"Why not just ask Potter his opinion?" he asked nastily.  
She grabbed hold of his shoulders and shook him slightly, "Don't, don't do that, don't try and provoke me to avoid the subject."  
"I'm not avoiding, he's your best friend, you're never going to believe me over him. Why are you even bothering to understand what I'm doing? Just so you can go back and tell him so he can stop me?"  
"I am not here for Harry!" she shoved him, "Not everything I do is about Harry."  
"No you're right, you went with McLaggen tonight because of Weasley, because him dating that girl bothers you. You think I don't know that you're jealous, what's wrong Granger, can't decide what you want?"  
His words stung, so she threw back, "I'm not the only one who is confused," the memory of him kissing Pansy was still crystal clear in her mind, "What's the matter, Pansy is the easy option but you get bored with the lack of challenge because she's so willing to throw herself at you at any given moment?"  
He took a determined step forwards and steered her backwards so that she was trapped between him and the wall, bracing his hands either side of her head, "I explained that to you, it was a mistake!"  
"Really, because it seems like she's someone you aren't ashamed to be seen with!"  
Draco sighed very softly, and it wasn't the surge of anger she was expecting. He took a moment to compose himself, not meeting her gaze but instead slowly taking in the details of her face; the few freckles across her nose, the curve of her bottom lip… "Pansy would be the easy option, but she holds no interest for me." His eyes finally met hers, "But surely you realise how dangerous this is Hermione?" His tone became more urgent, "If the wrong people found out it could put your life on the line, the thought of letting anyone harm you just because I…" her heart was beating so fast she was surprised he couldn't hear it.  
"I'm in danger anyway," she pointed out, "with Voldemort back he'll be hunting Muggleborns, and being friends with Harry makes me a prime target."  
Draco flinched, "Please, don't say his name."  
"You're afraid-"  
"Of course I'm afraid!" he exclaimed, removing his right hand from the wall and offering her an escape route, "I've seen first-hand what he's capable of, I know better than you, maybe even better than Potter, the lengths he's willing to go to get what he wants. The thought of Him anywhere near you _terrifies_ me, and the two of us together… Hermione, He would kill us both."  
His gaze was so intense that whatever counter argument she had was lost, and he took advantage of her rare silence to take a risk he'd been daydreaming of for weeks. He sealed the gap between them, wrapping his arm around her waist and cradling her to his chest at the same time he dipped his head and kissed her.  
Hermione gasped, he'd been talking himself out of any kind of relationship between them, a kiss was the last thing she'd expected. She should pull away, he'd all but confirmed that he was working for Voldemort and yet… She couldn't, not just yet. She'd only ever kissed one other person and that had been Viktor Krum; he'd been such a huge and passionate person that she'd always felt a little overwhelmed at his touch, though he was always gentle.  
With Draco it was entirely different. She had to stretch up on her toes to compensate for his height, but he held her so securely against him that she trusted she wouldn't unbalance, and the way he was kissing her didn't just feel out of want, but had an edge of urgency to it; he knew that this was a one-time shot, he knew that in all likelihoods they would have to pretend that this moment never happened, and that made it stolen, it made it count. She slid her hands up his chest and around his neck, running her fingers through the fine hair at the base of his neck causing him to shiver in pleasure. He titled their weight against the wall, not crushing her, but eliminating any remaining space between them. The hand that had dropped to her hip was gripping the fabric of her dress while the other tangled itself in her hair, and Hermione let out a low moan encouraging him not to stop.  
They couldn't spend all night kissing in an abandoned corridor, and as they began to run out of air Draco gently pulled away, running his nose along the underside of her jaw while she caught her breath, then he pressed his forehead to hers and said, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that, but I had to know… just this once I had to."  
"Draco don't go, we have to talk about this."  
His eyes were closed and he lightly brushed her lips with his once, so faintly that it made her a little weak at the knees, before he murmured, "I won't risk who I am, what I am, putting you in danger. I can't." He reached up and carefully removed her hands from behind his neck, he held on to them for a moment, taking in the last second he could before he steeled himself to leave, "Merry Christmas Hermione."  
Then he was gone and she was left leaning against the wall with her hands over her mouth, what had just happened?


	18. Chapter 18

_A slightly shaky but still holding on wifi-connection! And I'm officially in New Zealand. Now that the jet-lag is finally under control I thought I'd post another chapter. Love to hear your thoughts on this and the previous one- whatever will happen after the holidays?_

 _I start my new job on Monday so may not have another chapter up until after then, but rest assured it's written and ready to go as soon as I have a minute!_

 _-H_

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" _Hey, Granger_!" Hermione jumped at the sound of her name and spun around to see Ginny waving her across the Entrance Hall. She walked over, trying to slow her heartrate that had rocketed, she had become so accustomed to Draco calling her by her surname that she thought of him whenever someone referred to her by it; it was immensely distracting. Then again, Hermione had been permanently distracted since Slughorn's Christmas Party, it had been over twenty-four hours and she was now heading home for the holidays, but all she could think about was how it had felt when Draco had pressed her against the wall and kissed her; the contrast between his body heat and the cold stone behind her back made her shiver even now, and whenever she got caught up thinking about it, about him, she found herself wishing that it would happen again. A scary desire now that she knew… what? That Snape believed Draco had a "mission" for Voldemort, that he was- what? A Death Eater? The thought was unbearable.  
She reached Ginny's side and met her concerned questions with a smile and a wave, "I'm fine."  
"You're not fine," she muttered, Ron and Lavender were saying a passionate goodbye a few feet away and Harry was lingering awkwardly with Neville. "What happened at Slughorn's Party? Did McLaggen do or say something?"  
"What?" She had almost forgotten about McLaggen, "What, no! No he wasn't exactly a gentleman, in fact he was a downright pig, but he didn't hurt me if that's what you mean. I left early and I… I'm just looking forward to having some space over the holidays. I think I need it."  
"And what about when you get home?" Ginny pressed softly.  
Hermione drew a steadying breath, Ginny was the only person she had confided in about the concerning letters she'd been receiving from her parents, and it had taken her friend finding her crying in her dormitory for her to open up; the sad truth was that her grandmother was very ill, and this Christmas might be the last she would get to spend with her. She had considered telling both Ron and Harry for some moral support before now, but Harry was so distracted with Dumbledore's lessons and stalking Draco on the Maurader's Map, plus he was still dealing with Sirius' death… and Ron… She let Ginny give her a gentle hug as they prepared to head for the train, "I'm okay- I know that it might not be the best Christmas, but at least I can go home and spend it with my family."  
"If you need anything-"  
"I'll write, I promise."  
Together they had towards the carriages that would take them to the platform. Lavender had thankfully stayed behind to say goodbye to Parvati, so Ron was alone when he clambered in after her. "You uhm- looking forward to Christmas?" he asked Hermione.  
She gave him a bright smile and lied, ignoring Ginny's frown. While she still hadn't quite forgiven Ron for his treatment of her feelings, and no one was comfortable watching him make out with Lavender, she was no longer overcome with a sickening sense of jealousy whenever she saw them together. Unfortunately that was entirely due to Draco… who she had not seen even a whisper of since he'd rushed off and left her in that corridor.

They settled themselves into a compartment on the train and Harry challenged Ron to a game of exploding snap. Hermione distracted herself by letting Crookshanks out of his basket and cuddling him close to her chest, he got a little annoyed when the trolley Witch came by and several hyper first years came rushing down to buy sweets, making a dreadful noise. "Shh, Crookshanks, not long to go now," she cooed, scratching him behind the ear.  
He began to purr contentedly again and she glanced up to see a familiar face pass their compartment, only he got temporarily stuck by the snack trolley, and ended up having to linger. Their eyes met through the glass and Hermione could not have been more grateful that Ron and Harry were distracted, she didn't think she could handle it if the rest of the train ride was taken over by talk of what she and Harry had overheard; in the corridor Draco was very obviously trying not to look her way, and failing miserably.  
Their gazes met a second time and Hermione wished she were able to get up and just speak to him, she had no idea what was going through his mind as his eyes were dark and unreadable, did he regret kissing her? Had it been replaying in his mind the same way it had for her? Her uncertainty must have shown on her face, because he turned and snapped at the first years who immediately scattered out of his way and he stormed off. When Hermione looked back to Crookshanks to compose herself she realised she was being watched; Ginny's eyebrows raised curiously but she simply ignored her unasked question and turned to the boys, "Okay, now Ron has no eyebrows, who wants to play me?"


	19. Chapter 19

_Thought I'd upload quite a sweet chapter today, since I'm in a pretty good mood considering I just landed my dream job and had the best first day ever! Happy days = happy chapters. Would love to hear your thoughts, don't worry, plenty more still to come!_

 _-H_

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" _Hey, Granger_ " the untidy scrawl in the card was so familiar to Hermione that she didn't struggle to read the rest. It was a Christmas card from Ron, she had received others too, from Harry and the Weasleys, along with a small selection of presents.  
It was early Christmas morning, her parents were still fast asleep having spent most of Christmas Eve at the hospital visiting her grandmother. Hermione forced herself to open the wrappings of her first present and push aside any thoughts that might dampen her spirits. She was curled up in the window-seat of her room, snow was pressing against the frigid glass and she had her mother's patchwork blanket across her knees, the first gift was from Ginny and contained very beautiful beaded handbag. The note inside read:

 _Hermione,_

 _I know that this Christmas may not be the best, but I was in a muggle town with Fred and George and saw this in the window of a thrift shop, it's not much, but I know you'd love the colours. Merry Christmas, if you need anything, please write. Love, Ginny x_

Hermione smiled down at the bag that glistened in the light from the candle on her bedside table, coming home for the holidays always presented a small challenge in that her parents didn't approve of having open flames in her room, but she had become so accustomed to reading by firelight that she found the yellow electric lamp distracting, so she had cast a very small shield charm around the candle to ensure that it wouldn't drip any wax that would give her away. She set the bag to one side and opened the rest of her presents; there were sweats from Hagrid, Ron had sent her Honeydukes chocolate with his card, Mrs Weasley had sent a pair of knitted mittens and matching scarf, and Harry… Harry had sent her a truly beautiful new quill. It was a deep, rich navy and had clearly come from some exotic bird, and the tip was golden. Hermione found herself wishing she could hug him then, often she wondered if the boys paid her any kind of attention at all when the topic wasn't school work, Voldemort or Quddich, but she had been in the common room complaining that her favourite quill for letter writing had worn down and was making her hand-writing scratchy… the fact Harry had been unusually thoughtful- the grandfather clock in the hall chimed six and she leant against the icy window tiredly, she hadn't been sleeping well, not since coming home; between her family problems, and Draco…  
She scrunched her eyes shut and tried not to think about him, only all that happened was an image of him conjured behind her lids and she found herself playing idlly with her new quill; she could write to him? Surely there was a way, but what if the letter was intercepted? She had heard him mention his aunt Bellatrix to Snape, an escaped Death Eater and murderer, what if he was spending Christmas with her? The picture of them sitting uncomfortably round a dinner table almost made Hermione laugh, but her good humour was very short lived and she hugged her elbows.  
She wasn't sure how long she sat, trying very hard to think about nothing and gazing out of the window, but after a long while she realised that she was staring at something coming steadily closer, and closer, and closer to her window. Finally she snapped to her senses and jumped up out of her seat in time to fling the window wide and let in the handsome owl that was carrying a parcel wrapped in black paper.  
It landed on her bed and eyed her sternly while she tried to overcome her shock, she thought she recognised the owl, but she couldn't place where from...  
Eventually it hooted impatiently and she hurried to untie the parcel, offering it the plate of crumbs from her late night mince pie. She sat down on the edge of her bed with the box on her knee and reached for the black silk ribbon holding it together, only to hesitate- what if it was something untoward? The memory of Katie being cursed from touching the necklace came flooding back to her and she shivered, glancing uncertainly at the owl that was still eyeing her with seeming displeasure. It hooted a second time and she took a deep breath as she tugged on the wrapping, what remained was a faded box that had presumably once been gold but was now rather worn and cracked; her curiosity now outweighing her doubt, Hermione lifted the lid and gasped softly.  
It was a book, nestled into ancient satin cushion it had a matte, black leather cover and stamped onto the front in slightly peeling golden letters was the title;

 _Star Gazing; A Complete Perspective_

It was a title Hermione had searched the shelves for in both Hogwarts and Florish and Blotts alike but in vain, an extremely rare old book written by one of the first, most-respected Wizard astronomers who had compared the beliefs of muggles, wizards and magical creatures interpretations of the stars into one extensive and yet apparently wonderfully written volume. With a shaking hand she gently turned to the first page and made a noise of disbelief; an illustrated first edition!  
She could hardly believe her eyes, this kind of book wasn't just rare, it was an heirloom, but wherever had it come from…? She closed the cover again and laid a hand over it, this was an heirloom, from a very old, very wealthy wizarding family. It had to be, no one else would ever have access to it, or the funds to purchase it, and no one else would have thought of her as a recipient, "Draco," she breathed, turning to the owl.  
Only at the mention of its master's name it finally gave her an approving click of its beak and launched itself back out of the window and into the dawn. Hermione was left simply staring at the box, it was too much, both the gift and the sentiment, but why would his owl not have lingered so she could at least respond? Was he afraid she would return it? Would she?  
With all the questions and emotions bumbling around in her brain Hermione could hardly think straight, so when she heard her mother's footsteps coming down the hall, she hastily replaced the lid on the book and tucked it under her bed, before quickly blowing out her candle just in time for the door to swing wide open, "Oh- you're awake, I thought I heard an owl… presents from your friends?"  
"Uh," Hermione glanced at the pile on her window seat, "Yes, yes they just arrived now."  
She spent the rest of Christmas Day with her family, but all the while her thoughts remained upstairs, hidden under her bed with the book. What was she going to do?


	20. Chapter 20

" _Hey, Granger_!"  
Draco's head whipped around in panic as he heard Hermione's name and for the first time since their return to Hogwarts from the holidays, he saw her. He had deliberately arrived early to the train for the journey back and all but locked himself in the Slytherin compartment, he had managed a full twenty-four hours of sulking through the Castle without laying eyes on her, and it had been easier then to tell himself that his feelings and actions before Christmas had been ridiculous, but the moment she appeared his heart began to race so fast he thought he might throw up. This couldn't be happening.  
She had been accosted on her arrival in the library by Ernie McMillan, a Hufflepuff student for whom Draco had never had any time, his loud, pompous voice carried across the room as he asked her about her break.  
Hermione's voice was so much softer that Draco could not catch much of her replies, but he sensed from her expression that she was probably lying, her smile wasn't genuine. Part of him wanted to reach out to her, to disappear into the stacks and hope that she followed him, but he couldn't. With a dry mouth he forced himself to look back down at the list of books he'd come for, gather them as quickly as possible, and not look in her direction again.  
As he found the last title, a dull and boring book on the maintenance of magical carvings, he felt eyes on him and risked a glance on his shoulder. Hermione still had not escaped from Ernie, but was watching him with her beautiful brown eyes wide and confused. He felt himself flush at the memory of their encounter in the passageway outside of Slughorn's party, but forced it away, grabbing the book that he prayed would have some useful advice for his mission, and bolting from the library. He knew it was wrong, that he was probably hurting her, especially as his avoidance of her didn't marry with the gift that he'd sent; it had been a stroke of fate when he'd found the book among his great-grandfather's possessions, it had been tucked away in the attic where he'd disappeared for a little breathing room and he knew no one would notice it missing, not from the vast collection of antiques in Malfoy Manor. Plus the smile he knew it would bring to her face was worth the risk, or he thought it had been. It was stupid to send any form of communication to her, and while he was fairly certain no one had found out about the present, the fact he was distracted had not gone unnoticed. He felt a trickle of fear at the memory of his aunt's parting advice, it had been forced across as friendly and concerned, but the message had been crystal clear: complete the Dark Lord's mission, or his father would pay the price.  
And so he left Hermione standing clueless in the library and rushed to the Room of Requirement, where he planned on locking himself each time he longed for her company in the library- because if the Dark Lord was prepared to kill one of his own followers to motivate Draco, he would take great relish in instead murdering a muggle-born.

Hermione watched Draco rush out of the library as if the room was on fire, and felt her heart sink in her chest. She made a polite excuse to leave Ernie mid-sentence and disappeared into the stacks in the pretence of searching for a translation book for her Ancient Runes class. That's where Ginny found her a few moments later, "You don't need to bother lying to me, I know you've read that at least three times," she told her when Hermione grabbed the nearest book upon realising she was not alone. Her friend folded her arms across her chest and gave her a look Mrs Weasley would have been very proud of, "Do you want to tell me what's going on?"  
Hermione opened her mouth to refuse, but suddenly thought better of it. She often felt a little isolated from others, even her own friends, but what if that was her own doing, what if that was because she was too afraid to open up? She met Ginny's curious gaze and admitted, "I have a lot going on."  
"I've got time," she said softly.  
It sort of came pouring out of Hermione then, that between her studies, her grandmother's failing health and the weirdness between her and the boys since Ron got together with Lavender, had been all getting too much- "and… well, there's also this boy," she said finally and Ginny snorted.  
"Oh please, I was waiting for you to admit it. Of course your weird behaviour is because of a boy! Do you think I'm stupid? So tell me- who is it?"  
Hermione was not well accustomed to "girl-talk" and felt herself blush furiously, "I- I can't tell you. No, don't ask it's just too embarrassing!"  
Now she really had Ginny's attention, "Oh come on Hermione you have to tell me who it is! I can probably guess…"  
"It's not Ron," she said firmly and she could tell that she didn't believe her, "No, I mean it- I was jealous of him and Lavender at first, I was hurt because I thought I might have a strange… notion, or crush, but that's passed. I'm serious!" she insisted when Ginny giggled, "I promise I'm not crushing on your brother."  
Ginny perched on the edge of one of the narrow study tables and asked, "Okay, so this mystery guy- has anything happened between you?" She got her answer immediately when Hermione turned an even deeper shade of pink, "Oh-my-God you really have been keeping secrets!"  
"It's complicated," she whispered, acutely aware they were in a very public place, though the library was admittedly quite empty as classes hadn't resumed yet. She'd only come in to try and find Draco.  
"What's complicated about it? You like him, he likes you… he does like you right?"  
"I-I thought so, but I'm not so sure now." Hermione hid her face in her hands, "I'm not you Ginny! I'm not good at this stuff, I've never had a boy interested in me before other than-"  
"A totally hot and completely famous international Quiddich player," Ginny finished with a touch of sarcasm, and both girls dissolved into giggles.  
"That was bizarre enough," Hermione told her, "But this is even worse!"  
Ginny threw her hands in the air, "I can't help you if I don't know who it is!"  
"Yes you can, you can help me figure out how to decide what to do next. Say that- say that something happened and said person, despite insisting that a relationship is completely out of the question, decided to kiss me," Ginny's mouth dropped open but Hermione ploughed on before she could interrupt, "And then afterwards they ignore me and pretend like nothing happened."  
Her friend pulled a face, "Then he's a coward who doesn't deserve you!"  
It was a lovely thing to say, but she had a feeling if Ginny understood the situation more then she'd be insisting Hermione pretend it never happened either. "I'm telling you, it's rather complicated!"  
"It- it's not a teacher is it?"  
" _What?_ God no! Whatever would make you ask that?"  
"Well that would be a complicated, forbidden relationship," Ginny laughed and Hermione rolled her eyes towards the ceiling.  
"No- no it is certainly not a teacher, he's a student."  
"A Gryffindor student?"  
"You're prying, I'll stop talking if you keep prying," she threatened and Ginny mimicked zipping her mouth closed. "Okay, so there was a hypothetical kiss, and then a lot of ignoring, but then what if over the holidays he sends you an extremely thoughtful and personal gift, that no one else in the world ever would, but now is still ignoring you?"  
Ginny looked thoughtful, "Are you sure the gift is from him?"  
Hermione had considered it a lot since Christmas Day, but she nodded firmly, "Absolutely. There was no note, but he's the only person who would even know I'd want it." And be able to afford it, she added mentally.  
She huffed out a sigh, "It sounds like he's pretty into you, but something is definitely getting in the way. He hasn't got a girlfriend or anything has he?" She didn't give Hermione time to format an answer to that, "Either way I'd say he can't make bold gestures like kissing you or sending you lavish gifts and then not have any time for you, you're worth more than that, and he definitely owes you a straight up answer, so my advice is, go get one."  
"What if he doesn't want to talk to me?"  
Ginny stood up straight and took Hermione's shoulders firmly, "You're Hermione Granger, you're the girl who helped Harry beat all those challenges before acquiring the Philosopher's Stone, you're the girl who figured out when even Dumbledore hadn't that Slytherin's monster was a Basilisk, you travelled in time for an entire year to cram in more work than most seventh years take on when you were thirteen, plus you dated an International Quiddich player- you can do anything you put that huge brain of yours too, so if this boy is too afraid to talk to you it just means he probably has a little sense." Hermione laughed feebly, and Ginny shook her, "Make him talk to you, and if the answer is no, well we'll find you another Quiddich player."

* * *

 _This was a bit of a favourite of mine to write, while I adore Harry Potter and it's certainly not a story lacking in strong female characters, sometimes because it's written from Harry's perspective I think we miss some of the details of the female friendships, especially Hermione and Ginny. I've got an amazing group of friends where we all have this fierce belief in each other and are constantly there to support each other, and I feel like that is the kind of friendship I'd love these two to have. So less of Draco in this chapter, though hopefully you have got a bit of an explanation about why he's acting so erratically, but I like writing about Hermione and Ginny. Next chapter will focus back on the relationship I promise, would love some reviews on this one guys, hope you enjoyed!_

 _-H_


	21. Chapter 21

_Alright guys, ask and you shall receive! See what happens when you make me happy by reviewing? You asked for some more of Draco and Hermione so enjoy and let me know what you think :)_

 _-H_

* * *

" _Hey, Granger_ ," Ron whispered and Hermione turned to see him crouched behind one of the armchairs in the Common Room, "over here!"  
With a confused frown she hurried over but he hissed, "Don't make it obvious! Just- just sit down for a second."  
She did as asked and whispered back, "What's going on, why are you hiding?"  
"Can you tell me when Lavender leaves?"  
Hermione rolled her eyes, "If you want to end it with her just do it, I'm not going to help you hide from her for the rest of the year!"  
It had been a very frustrating few days for Hermione, she had tried to take Ginny's advice and approach Draco several times, but every time he'd found an escape route to avoid her; in potions he'd actually voluntarily spilled his cauldron all over his work bench so that he drew the attention of the room and she was forced to dart into the store cupboard to pretend to have being going to look for ingredients. She was both mortified and furious with him all at the same time. If he regretted kissing her why had he sent her that book? And if he liked her then why couldn't he even look her in the eye?  
"Okay," she said when she saw Lavender and Parvati leave out of the Portrait Hole, "They're gone."  
"Hermione, you're a life-saver!" Ron got up and stretched and she gave him a stern look. "I'll talk to her," he insisted, "but right now we've got Defence Against the Dark Arts and I don't fancy being yelled at by Lavender to then get yelled at by Snape."  
"Well we might get yelled at now considering we're late, come on!" she hurried him into the corridor and up towards their classroom, "Where is Harry this afternoon anyway?"  
Ron shrugged, "He disappeared at lunch, something about following Malfoy- I dunno."  
Hermione felt like she had a rock in her stomach, "He's still following him?"  
Ron didn't have time to answer because they reached the classroom just in time for Snape to open the door and usher them inside, Harry was already there, looking vaguely disappointed which Hermione took to mean he hadn't found out anything sinister about Draco.  
She tried her best to concentrate as much as possible on the class, but most of her thoughts were plagued by Draco and Harry's feud, what if something were to happen with her and Malfoy? Would that mean losing Harry as her best friend? She almost considered abandoning all attempts to clear things up with Draco at the thought of it, but when the bell rang and their eyes met briefly over the desks and he once again darted for the exit in an attempt to avoid her, she took a deep breath and disappeared after him so quickly that neither Ron nor Harry saw her go.

He dashed away from the emptying class impossibly fast, only this time she wasn't letting him avoid her. Losing patience she cast a silent shield charm that filled the corridor, so as he hurried away he rebounded off of it so hard he slammed sideways against the wall, "What the hell, Granger?" he snarled, turning to face her.  
She was panting slightly from having run to catch him and gasped, "You cannot keep avoiding me, Draco."  
"Watch me," he said and stepped backwards through a tapestry and into one of the many secret shortcuts of the Castle. Hermione followed, disappearing as the rest of the class left Snape's classroom and filled the corridor they'd just been in. In the cool, shadowy passageway she caught his arm and said fiercely, "No, no you have to talk to me. You have to help me understand what the hell happened before the holidays! One minute you admit to me that you're _working for Voldemort,_ " he cringed but she ignored him, "then you _kiss_ me, and then you just disappear and pretend like it never happened, but then you send me that book and now can't even look at me- Draco, look at me!" He had sagged against the wall as if in defeat, his eyes on the floor, "this isn't fair," she tried to keep the threat of tears out of her voice.  
"Life isn't fair," he countered and she immediately rolled her eyes.  
"I'm not buying it Malfoy, I know why you're afraid and I am too, you think this doesn't scare me?" She gestured between them as he finally looked at her, "but it's all I have been able to think about, so if you didn't want this, if you didn't want me, then you shouldn't have kissed me!"  
He grabbed her hand, "You think that? You think that moment hasn't been consuming me since that night? Well it has, I told you that I had to know, how it would feel to pretend just for a second that we could actually… but you can't always have what you want and I can't have you!"  
She stepped closer, returning the pressure of his hand that was still holding hers, and said quietly but clearly, "Yes you can." Hermione had never been so bold in her life and Draco was floored, she ploughed on before she lost her nerve, "It's not going to be easy, and I won't pretend that I can just ignore what I heard before the holidays or that this isn't a huge, huge risk, but if you're at least willing to try Draco… then so am I."  
His eyes were round with amazement and she held on to the last seconds of courage she had and reached up to kiss him. His response was instant and filled with passion; he pulled her hips against his and kissed her back. She didn't know how long they were locked together, giving in to the hours of yearning from the time they'd spent apart, and when Draco eventually moved his lips to the underside of her jaw she titled her head back in pleasure, allowing him to suck on the soft skin of her neck while she caught her breath. Her hands were clutching the fabric of his robes, when she'd moved to kiss him she hadn't expected it to be like this, "Draco," she breathed and he squeezed her even tighter against him.  
"I missed you," he murmured against her ear, "Every moment, of every day. It's been killing me to ignore you, but I told myself that I had to protect you."  
She touched the side of his face and drew his attention momentarily away from kissing, "I already told you, I'm going to be in danger regardless of us, and sometimes you have to decide to act in spite of the risk. Sometimes you need to be brave."  
"Spoken like a true Gryffindor," he teased lightly, his fingers tracing hypnotising patterns on her back while he spoke.  
She shivered and pressed closer, "Well I took a Slytherin's advice once, maybe you should return the gesture."  
He touched his lips to hers briefly, "We'll need to keep this a secret, I still need to keep you safe from my family, and the people they associate with."  
She wanted to argue that she hated secrets, but the thought of walking into the Great Hall and telling Ron and Harry stopped her, "For now," she said, "We can keep it a secret for now."


	22. Chapter 22

" _Hey, Granger_."  
"Draco, not here," Hermione whispered with a smile.  
It was mid-morning, they were part way through a double Potions class and she had darted into the store cupboard to grab some extra lacewing flies when she'd sensed someone come in behind her. "Why not here?" he murmured.  
"We're going to get caught! Draco-" her warning was lost on him however as he grinned and bent his head to kiss her.  
As it had been every time they'd found a moment together over the last week and a half, Hermione melted against him the moment he held her, though for once he was relatively well-behaved, and the kiss was brief but sweet. "I couldn't resist," he brushed her hair off of her face, "As much as I'm enjoying sneaking around with you, it does get frustrating. Did you know you could look cute when you're silently disagreeing with your textbook?"  
"I wasn't disagreeing with it, it's just-"  
"Potter is beating you in Potions and it's annoying you," he was teasing her, usually whenever the subjects of her friends came up his expression would turn sour, so she didn't argue with him this time. Besides, he was right, the fact Harry was doing better thanks to that stupid Prince was driving her mad.  
He was rubbing her arm while she was distracted, and when she came back to reality she turned her chin up in an invitation which he promptly took. It wasn't wearing off, the thrill of them together, and sneaking around was both out-of-character for Hermione, and incredibly exhilarating. Since she had cornered him in the narrow corridor and made her feelings abundantly clear, Draco had apparently put aside all of his own doubts and embraced their secret relationship eagerly.  
He also had an uncanny talent for being able to find moments to surprise her, such as the empty classroom he'd accosted her in as she had emerged last from her Arithmancy class a few days ago; he had a free period and had been waiting for her, and wasted no time with words before he had pinned her against the closed door and made the most the precious few minutes they had before the next bell rang. And then there had been the afternoon when she had waved off Harry and Ron to the Quiddich pitch after their Herbology lesson as they went to cram in some extra practice before dinner, and Draco had managed to sneak them back into one of the greenhouses when Professor Sprout wasn't looking where they spent a glorious half-an-hour talking and making out while trying not to get tangled in any of the curious plants. Not to mention two days ago when she had been walking only a half-step behind Ginny on her way to breakfast and suddenly a hand had come out from behind the very tapestry she had chased him through and hauled her into his arms. She had made a hurried excuse to Ginny later that she had forgotten a book and darted back to the Common Room, but she could tell she had aroused a certain amount of suspicion; not that she had cared in the ten minutes she had missed breakfast for, as Draco had slid her school bag off of her shoulder and discarded it onto the floor, lifted her from the ground and wrapped himself around her. She still blushed at the memory.  
Today however he really was being more careful, their entire class was only just on the other side of the ajar door, they were treading a very dangerous line. "We need to be more careful about this," she whispered, trying not to groan as he planted a hard kiss on the spot he had learned that she liked, right at the base of her neck, in the hollow of her collarbone. She took his face in her hands with a silent laugh and said, "I'm serious Draco, we also still need to talk."  
While they had spent plenty of time making out recently, they still had not had a serious conversation, and it was definitely due. He sighed deeply, kissing the tip of her nose, "That conversation may make or break us," he warned.  
"You need to trust me," she told him.  
He opened his mouth but struggled to find the words, "Just- not today, not here, let me enjoy having you to myself for just a while longer before you leave me."  
"You need to have a little more faith, Malfoy."  
"You need to lower your expectations of me, Granger."  
She made an impatient nose and grabbed him by his robes, kissing him deeply before pushing him back sharply, "And you need to stop making excuses."  
Hermione made to leave, the jar of flies in her hands when he said quickly, "Come and meet me tonight."  
"To talk?"  
"Think of it more like a date, a real date," his posture was rigid as he waited for her answer.  
She flushed, "You're asking me out?"  
"We seemed to have skipped that part," he pointed out. "What do you say?"  
Her smile was brilliant, "I'll sneak out of the Dormitory around eleven?"  
"Meet me in our corridor," his returning grin was triumphant and she disappeared back into the classroom leaving him in the dark, his heart pounding.

* * *

 _So prepare yourself for some cute and wonderfully indulgent chapters guys, and remember, iiiiif you're happy and you know it please review!_


	23. Chapter 23

" _Hey, Granger,_ " he whispered in her ear and Hermione shivered in pleasure.  
Draco had snuck up on her as she waited in the darkened corridor, his hands had found her waist and she could feel him towering over her, his head bent to rest on her shoulder and she sighed in relief, "I was beginning to think you weren't coming."  
"I… got caught up leaving my Dorm, no one saw you did they?"  
"No, I was careful." She turned and looked up at him with a small smile, "So is your idea of a date just us meeting in a freezing corridor or did you have something better planned."  
His returning smile was brilliant, "Wait and see."

They ended up on the Astronomy Tower, and she was floored by his efforts; when they arrived at the top only slightly out of breath, her jaw dropped. He had acquired a large, comfortable picnic blanket which he had spread on the flagstones for them to lie on, and there were two candles next to a large assortment of food and a flask of butterbeer, she now understood why he had been late, "Draco…"  
He pulled her by the hand towards the blanket and they settled themselves below the stars, "I wanted to surprise you."  
"Well you certainly succeeded," she wasn't watching him, she was looking up at the sky which was inky black and dotted with too many stars to count. She didn't see the way he was gazing at her, memorising the details of her smile, each freckle across her nose, and when she looked back at him with shining eyes he silently offered her a butterbeer, too afraid to speak.  
They settled themselves back on the blankets, their elbows just touching, and Draco began to question her about the muggles interpretation of the stars. They talked for so long that soon the hour chimed midnight and Hermione's head rolled to rest on Draco's shoulder, "Are you tired?"  
"Yes, but I also don't want to leave yet."  
His heart soared and he stretched his arm underneath her so that she was more comfortable, there was a moment of silence before she whispered, "We still need to talk, Draco, about what I heard before Christmas."  
When he didn't answer she looked up and saw that he was lightly dozing, the dark circles under his eyes seemed so much more prominent this close up and she reached out to touch the side of his face, his eyelids fluttered open and he mumbled, "I'm so comfortable around you, it makes it easier to relax, I'm not sleeping well on my own."  
"That wouldn't have anything to do with your so-called mission would it?" she asked boldly and he went cold.  
"I-I can't talk about that, I wish that it was different, I wish that so much was different."  
His gaze was so intense that she momentarily forgot what she was asking him, but when he moved to embrace her she pushed him back, "Draco you can't just keep distracting me every time I try and get close to you. You have to let me in at some point."  
"At some point yes, but not tonight," he murmured and closed the gap between them, rolling her over so that she was lying in the folds of the blanket, his full weight on top of her. His tiredness had apparently vanished as he ran his hands from her waist, following the curves of her body, down her arms until he had both of her wrists in his grasp which he then pinned above her head. With her hands out of the way he gently pressed even closer, and Hermione, despite being annoyed that he still wouldn't open up to her, gave in. She had never, ever, been kissed like this before. It was obvious in his posture, in each whispered compliment how much he had been thinking about this, and despite being immobilised beneath him, she arched her back in an attempt to get closer, gasping in relief when he finally moved his lips to her neck and opening her eyes to take in the full scope of the sky above them. She would never have pegged Draco as the romantic type, but a candle-lit picnic on the tower really was a perfect first date; the heat between them had built so high she was starting to feel a little dizzy, time seemed to have lost all meaning, for example, when had she wrapped her leg around his hip? At what moment had he undone the top two buttons on her blouse, in fact how had he undone them? His hands were still holding on to hers above her head.  
As if sensing that they were pushing the boundaries of her comfort zone, he untangled his fingers from hers and rolled them carefully so she was curled into his side, his kisses becoming less urgent and sweeter. She felt her heartrate begin to slow and she caressed the side of his face with her fingertips, tracing the outline of his lips when he finally, finally broke away, lying back breathless but smiling.  
After a moment of comfortable silence he mumbled against her hair, "I'm sorry, what were you asking me?"  
"Mmh?" she was listening to the sound of his heart through his chest, her fingers playing with the collar of his shirt and she was struggling to form a coherent thought.  
Draco chuckled and nuzzled her hair, "I've finally succeeded in properly distracting you I see."  
"It's not fair," she murmured, "but I'll forgive you this time."  
He admired their joined hands and brought hers up to kiss, "Why's that?"  
She sat up a little, so she was perched on his chest rather than curled into it and he could see the full extent of her smile, "Because this really is the perfect first date, no one has ever done anything like this for me before."  
"I recall you saying that one should make genuine effort when trying to get the girl he likes," he joked.  
"That's not all you've remembered, you remembered I love to star-gaze, you remembered my favourite snacks though I'm not sure how?"  
"They happen to be my favourite snacks," he said honestly, "I just got lucky."  
She burst out laughing, "Okay so we have more in common than we first thought."  
He returned her smile, "I'm happy that you're happy, Granger, that was kind of the point."  
It was so difficult, to be with him like this knowing how much he was keeping from her, that what he had to say may very well put her off him- though she struggled to imagine it. Hermione never thought she'd ever be the kind of girl to fall for the bad guy, and Draco might not just be some shaggy-haired biker kid she'd always thought all stereotypical bad boys were, he might be something seriously worse, but she didn't want to destroy this moment while they had it just by asking him directly. He seemed to share her thoughts because his grin faded and he traced her bottom lip solemnly, like he was trying to memorise the shape, "I wish we could stay up here," he whispered, "I wish I could be the kind of guy you deserve."  
"You are that person, sometimes," she told him.  
"We've got to work on those percentages huh?"  
She almost smiled, "I'd say you've done pretty well so far- you're a solid 60-40 right now."  
"Ah but which is the higher percent?"  
She stretched up to touch her lips to his, "The right one."

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As much as I'd love to write "and they lived happily ever after" there is a lot more to come in the story still... would love to hear your thoughts.

-H


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